The dragon's Gift
by konialis789
Summary: Harry recieves a gift from the Horntail during the first task. The gift's effects on him opens his mind and senses to things he was ignorant of before. AU with SuperHarry (but not immediate) and some very very little Dumbledore bashing(making him look bad, but not villifiying him). HHr will probably start during 5th year but there will be sprinkles of it in 4th. T rating for safety
1. The dragon's gift

**Summary:Harry recieves a gift from the Horntail during the first task. The gift's effects on him opens his mind and eyes to things you was ignorant before. AU with SuperHarry (but not immediate) and some very very little Dumbledore bashing(making him look bad, but not villifiying him). HHr will probably start during 5th year but there will be sprinkles of it in 4th. T rating for safety**

 **Disclaimer: I own nothing of Harry Potter**

'thoughts'

"speech"

 _§parseltongue§_

* * *

Harry was sitting in a chair in the Champion's tent trying not to throw up. He knew for a while what the first task entailed but the severity of it didn't seem to register in his mind until now. ' _Dragons, bloody dragons_ ' he kept repeating that phrase in his head, trying desperately to convince himself this whole situation wasn't real. That it was all some sort of ellaborate dream/nightmare. However the small miniature dragon that was struggling to get away from his grip, as well as the dragon roars, sounds of wings flapping and heat coming from the arena where his fellow champions were facing their own respective dragons, wouldn't let him.

As he was lamenting his fate and inwardly cursed both the one who put his name in the damn goblet and the organizers of this whole tournament for letting him participate despite being nowhere near old enough, suddenly he felt a sting in his right index finger. It seems the miniature hungarian horntail he picked had bitten him in an attempt to free itself from his grasp. He loosened his grip on it and let it stand on the top of his palm. As he did so the small dragon stood proudly on it's four legs, stretched it's long neck upward and positioned it's head in a way that it's right eye was staring at Harry's face. While it did that Harry was observing the entirety of the small dragon, finally having a good look at the infamous Hungarian Horntail instead of the small glance he got when he followed Hagrid and madame Maxime to the Forbidden Forest. Looking at it in this small scale Harry could almost understand Hagrid's fascination with the dangerous creatures. Even at this size every single part of the dragon seemed to radiate power. From it's fangs to it's wings to it's scales and especially to it's spike filled tail.

'Hell even it's serpent's tongue seems dangerous, especially for a tongue' joked Harry inwardly. That is when it hit him.

'Wait a second, serpent's tongue?' His mind started racing.'Don't i have a power that specifically affects serpents? I mean sure dragons are creatures imbued with a tremendous amount of magic unlike regural snakes and lizards but they're still serpents. And a parselmouth is supposed to have the ability to speak to all serpents, just like Riddle did with the basilisk. The basilisk like the dragon is also a magically gifted serpent but me and riddle could still speak to it. Sure he could control it since he was Salazar Slytherin's heir and i couldn't, but in this case i wouldn't even need to control the dragon, just inform it that one of it's eggs is fake and that i would need to retrieve it.' He really thought he struck gold there. Sure Mad-eye's plan of using his firebolt to approach the eggs and grab the gold one was very sound but it had great risks. Primary of which were the dragons' genders. All four were nesting females and leaving their eggs unprotected would be the last thing they would do. That meant that he would either have to fly so close to the dragon that a single well placed blast of fire-breath would reach him almost instantly(thus killing him), or he would have to make the dragon so angry and pissed of that it would leave its eggs defenceless in order to pursue him upon which time he would swoop in at max speed and grab it before it could react. On the other hand if he tried to talk to the dragon in parseltongue and convince it then he could either walk to the eggs if it allowed him or simply use an accio on the golden egg. Sure it wasn't a well thought out plan but for a last minute one it seemed oddly promising. And if worst came to worst he could still use his original plan.

That is when he heard the roar of the crowd from outside. It seems Krum had finally got the egg from the Chinese Fireball. That was his queue to stand up. He straightened himself up, got to the tent's exit and prepared himself for Bagman's sonorus enhanced voice to call his name. The moment he did he closed his eyes and took a step forward.

When he opened them he was faced with the most terrifying sight he ever witnessed in his 14 short years of life. In front of him was the full size version of the great beast that he held in his palm moments before. His mind blanked and his legs froze. It took several seconds and the great dragons roar at his expense for him to snap out of it. When he did, he noticed that the dragon,'Or more accuratelly dragoness' he thought, had a chain around her neck that seemed to anchor her to some particural spot behind her he couldn't really see. She was also standing over her eggs protectivelly and stared at him with what appeared to be defiance and hatred,'Or is it fear'. The moment that thought crossed his mind Harry immediately seemed to calm down. The great dragoness was afraid of him. 'No that's not right she is afraid of what might happen to her eggs, she's not afraid of me in particular.' That thought made him sick to his stomach. He realised that though a dragon, and in essence a beast, the being in front of him was still a mother trying to protect her young, much like his own mother did for him when he was a baby. The obvious simile between the dragoness and his mother disturbed him to the core. After all in this situation he seemed to be playing the role of the villain, the role of Voldemort. The same man that took any hope of a happy normal life away from him as a child. That is when he made his decision. He would rather die than try to take away the golden egg by force, and if that meant he failed on the first task and got disqualified well tough. He didn't want to participate in the damn thing in the first place. No, wether it worked or not, the only way he would use to get the egg was communication by parseltongue. His decision was made.

Meanwhile, as all of these thoughts passed through his mind, several seconds had passed and the entire crowd had gone silent. They were all looking forward to see how the youngest champion would tackle the first task. No one knew what was going on in his head and most of them simply interpreted his stilness as fear and nerves. He was rather young after all. So what happened next seemed to stun all of them with fear and/or suprise. Harry started walking forward towards the dragon very calmly while putting his wand back into his pocket. The ones who were most alarmed by this were the dragon-handlers that were stationed around the arena ready to reign in the dragons if they got out of control, chief among them Charlie Weasly. 'What the hell is the kid doing' Charlie thought gripping his wand harder with every step that Harry took, 'he's going to get himself killed'. That was when Harry stopped mere 20 ft away from the dragoness's head that was close to the ground with the rest of her body ready to pounce at him.

 _§Greetings, oh powerfull one§_ said Harry in the loudest and most respectfull tone he could muster at that point. At that moment something incredible happened. The Dragoness that seemed ready to rip him to shreds suddenly raised her head and looked at him with wonder and eybrows raised (or at least the dragon equivalent of it, since she didn't have eyebrows).

 _§You are a Speaker?§_ she asked suprise evident in her powerfull and clearly feminine voice (a voice that sounded a lot like professor McGonagal as Harry would insist in the future).

 _§Yes i am a speaker§_ replied Harry, his confidence rising with each passing second. _§I am sorry to have to meet you like this powerfull one but unfortunatelly fate and the machinations of those who think they know better have put us in positions opposite one another§._ Harry really didn't know why he was speaking in such a manner, however it seemed to keep the dragoness staring at him clearly intrigued instead of killing and then possibly eating him, so he kept at it.

 _§I know you have no reason to believe what i am about to reveal to you Great one, but i would request your permission to explain the reason i stand before you. After i have you are welcome to deal with me in any way you wish§,_ Harry at this point was inclining his head as he spoke in what he considered the equivalent of a beast's sign of obedience and acknowledges superiority.

While he did the dragoness had lowered her scaled head in a relatively normal height and kept both her eyes fixed on Harry. She was listening to every word he said and was left pondering the abnormality this twoleg, this hairless ape, had presented her. Normally twolegs were either running away from her and her kind, afraid of becoming lunch, or run towards her in an attempt to reverse the natural order and become the hunters instead of the hunted -a trait that most dragons actually had the greatest respect for in potential prey. Not this one though. This one actually tried to converse and reason with her the same way he would with another of his kind. That intrigued she made her choice.

 _§You may speak freely speaker, after all that is why you were granted your ability by magic§_ , she said with a mildly arrogannt tone.

Harry smiled. He actually had not much hoppe in making the dragoness allow him to talk. He thought he would have to somehow force her to listen in some way, hopefully not a violent one (after all he had no chance at that).

 _§Thank you powerfull one. First i would like to introduce myself§_ he said straightening himself up and trying to make himself look as fearless as possible,'something really hard to do in front of a 50 ft long fire breathing, spiketailed, beast of destruction' Harry mused. _§My name is Harry Potter. I stand here before you because i was forced to participate in an event of my kind, that includes us performing a series of tasks in competition with others of my kind. The reason for this is the recognition of our schools, our nests if you will, as superior to the others. That is where you come in.§_ he said pointing at her. _§For you see the first task is to pass through one of you four Mothers to reach your eggs.§_ When he finished those words the Horntail's eyes slitted and she immediatelly lowered her head once again ready to pounce. However she didn't.'Looks like she is actually willing to listen' thought Harry, while balls of sweat now started roaming down his forehead. He pressed on however.

§ _The task doen't end there though. You see when your handlers brought you in this arena with your eggs, the planted one fake egg among your own. That egg is the one i am supposed to pry from your pretective embrace. Apparently it is supposed to contain a clue of the next task. What i suggest is that you let me through and while under your constant vigilant gaze_ '(Moody would be so proud of me)' _i pick up the fake egg and then we both go our seperate ways and avoid any harm coming to you, your eggs, or me.§_ Harry felt his throat close when he finished talking and observed the dragoness twist her neck and bringing her head on top of her eggs. She then procceded to sniff them, obviously trying to ascertain wether he was tellinf the truth. Sure enough when her snout(?)* reached the golden egg she flinched. It didn't smell like her brood, it smelled metallic. She turned around and her eyes where back on Harry.

 _§It seems you speak the truth Speaker. Tell me though, if retrieving this false egg is supposed to be a task that would prove your nest's superiority, why would you then put yourself at my mercy instead of just fighting for it. I know that's what i would have done.§_ Harry was stunned. He didn't expect that question. He thought he had more than seventy percent chance chance of being eaten the second he sort of-maybe-kind off insinuated that if she didn't let him have the golden egg, her own eggs would be in danger. He struggled to regained his composure.

§ _My reasons are my own§_ he said. § _However i will tell you this much, i would never willingly put a mother and her hatchling in harm's way for any reason. I hope you will leave the matter at that§_ He really didn't want to tell a dragon he just met his life's story. The female Horntail peered at him for several minutes after that. He didn't back down, no matter how much he wanted to just dive behind arock and she leaned her head backwards and made a low growling sound that to Harry sounded like laughter.

 _§Very well Speaker§_ she said with obvious mirth in her voice. _§i will allow you to just walk to the nest and obtain the false egg, but i have a condition first. You must allow me to judge you.§_ As she saw the frown that formed on Harry's face she was quick to reassure him. _§do not worry hatchling it is nothing dangerous. It is simply a ritual blessing of sorts performed by my knid to yours when we meet someone who we believe to be worthy. The first part of it is the judgement of magic. If you are found worthy then magic will allow me to continue to the second part which is the actuall blessing. Then you are free to take the false egg and bring honour to your nest without the pains of conflict like you desire.§_ Harry needed a great deal of willpower to stop himself from jumping to the air with celebration but quickly sobered when he passed the draagoness's words through his mind one more time. The frown was back on his face.

 _§Then what happens if i am not worthy§_ he asked his voice low with fear and anger.

The dragoness gave a growling chuckle at this and procceded to answer. _§Absolutely nothing. It just means you wont get the blessing, though i highly doubt that, and then you are free to again take the false egg and be on your way§_ Harry stared in wonder at this.

 _§Just like that?§_ he asked, hope and fear filling his voice.

 _§just like that hatchling§_ assured the dragoness in the most soothing tone she had used throughout this whole conversation. Harry couldn't believe it. He had just ensured that not only would he complete the first task but that he would also do so with no harm coming to either hhim, the dragon, or the eggs. _§Thank you§_ he said, emotion filling all of his being.'Hagrid was right. They really are wonderfull beings, dragons.'

 _§Let's get started then hatchling. First remove the fake skin you and your kind wear from your torso and then make sure to stand verry still.§_ He did as she asked and removed his champon's robe and shirt. That was when he saw the horntail's head reach him. Her nose spike was under his chin and her snout was touching his chest. Her breath warmed his naked torso. After a while of just standing there he started feeling something. It was a warmth that seemed to radiate from the point of contact between him and the dragoness. He saw that the dragoness had her eyes closed and as the warmth reached his head so did he.

 **-"-**

While all of this was happening the entire crowd was utterly silent. From the moment Harry started walking towards the dragon, nothing could be heard in the entire arena. Nobody had been able to hear Harry speaking but they could all see the differences in the dragon's demeanor since he approached it.

What made everyone break the silence with a collective gasp was Harry taking of his clothes in front of the entire audience (many witches started paying very close attention in that moment, wink,wink) and the dragon, then putting its head on his chest. The ones most confused and awed by this were the dragon-handlers. They had never seen a dragon act like this before. To them the female Horntail seemed way too docile in front of Harry even when she hadn't cradled her head on his chest let alone now. Now they simply stared with their mouths open as if confounded.

The suprises didn't end there however. A few moments later, a light shone from the point of contact between Harry and the dragoness. That light seemed to produce a sound like lightning and scorcing flesh, however neither Harry nor the dragoness seemed to show any signs of pain or distress, far from it actually. Harry seemed to have a small smile on his lips. As time passed the light became brighter and the sounds louder until they eventually reached their peak. When that happened, the dragoness whipped her head up straight towards the sky, while at the same time Harry pulled his wand and pointed upwards, also towards the sky, both of them carrying the light along with them. Almost immediately after white flames started spewing not only from the dragoness's mouth but also from Harry's wand. At first the flames seemed to coalesce into a cloud right above them but when they stopped producing it it slowly started swirling downward, producing a dome of fire surounding both of them.

That seemed to snap the entire stadium out of their silence, as the people closest to the arena started screaming and jumping backwards towards the back seats afraid of being burnt. The security wizards and dragon-handlers seemed to be in panic as they started attacking the dome with every spell they could think of, in the attempt to break it and rescue Harry (after all if they let the Boy-who-Lived die in their watch Fudge was going to have their heads.) None of them worked however, and some seemed to bounce back even, targeting their own caster.

The only one who seemed perfectly calm however was an old man sitting in the judges' table. That old man was Albus Dumbledore. He seemed to look at the dome with the greatest height of concentration and wonder in his eyes. After all being as old and knowledgeable as he was, it wasn't every day he saw magic he hadn's so much as heard of let alone seen. In haste, he cast an advanced diagnostic spell on the dome. The result astounded him. The fire that made up the dome seemed to have the exact same outward properties of Fiendfyre, but within it was exactly the opposite. Where Fiendfyre's core was made up of Destruction magic, this White inferno's core was made up of Creation magic with the purest concentration he had ever seen. Even some of the most advanced healing spells and unicorn blood he saw in Flamel's workshop and library paled in comparison. His curiosity mildly sated, he then turne his attention towards the panicking crowd. 'That wont do' he thought as he saw several of his students being on the verge of being trampled. He quickly cast a Sonorus spell on his throat.

"SILENCE" he yelled with his enhanced voice. At that sound of it, the entire crowd stilled and turned to look at him.

"AS YOU ARE AWARE" he continued "WE ARE HERE TO OBSERVE THE FIRST TASK AS PERFORMED BY THE CHAMPIONS. IF YOU ARE CONCERNED FOR YOUR SAFETY, BECAUSE OF THIS INCIDENT" he said poining at the white dome of fire "YOU ARE WELCOME TO LEAVE IN AN ORDERLY FASHION. HOWEVER I WOULD LIKE TO ASSURE YOU THAT THIS DOME, ENIGMATIC THOUGH IT MAY BE, DOES NOT HAVE THE POTENTIAL OF HARMING ANY OF YOU." At that, the entire crowd seemed to calm down and walk back to their seats, though some still looked at the dome with apprehension and took their leave.

As that happened, the radiance and illumination of the white fire started to inrease, and slowly but surely it started to converge into a single ball of flame at the top of the dome, letting people see what was happening on the inside. They saw Harry, his hands spread out and his body in the supine position floating right under the concentrated ball of flame. The flame then seemed to quiver for a while as it lowered itself towards him. When it reached his chest at the same point the dragoness had her head on, right at his heart, instead of burning him like normal fire, it first burned a mark on his skin ( a single great crooked line diagonally across his heart with two thinner and smaller lines protruding from somewhere in the middle that then bent downward at a roughly 130 degree angle.) and then proceeded to infuse itself within that same mark. Slowly then Harry started floating down and as he did he opened his eyes and shifted his body upwards landing on his feet. He lowered his head to look at the mark on his chest to see it still glowing white, and then to everyone's suprise grinned. He then turned his attention to the great Hungarian Horntail that seemed to be ready to pass out from exhaustion next to her nest. He started walking and then reached the nest, bent down, got the golden egg. As he was leaving he went to the dragoness pressed hi forehead and right hand on her snout and muttered thanks both in english and parseltongue. The dragoness seemingly pleased both with him and herrself let out a satisfied growl and then closed her eyes and succumbed to much needed sleep.

Then Harry started jogging towards the champion's tent. Once inside he was instantly led to a chair and was"assaulted" by madam Pomfrey with dozens of physical and magical diagnostic spell one after another, al the while hearing her mutter, "last year dementors, this year dragons, what are they going to bring into this school next?".

* * *

 **a/n:Well that's it for the first chapter. Hope you like it. Reviews are welcome**

 **If you want, you can vote in the poll wether you would want cedrik to not die or die at the third task, or some other way later. I will take the result into advisement, but if it seems to not fit the story in my head i reserve the right not to follow it**


	2. Scores and opened eyes

**Disclaimer: Again i do not own Harry Potter**

"speech"

'thoughts'

§parseltongue§

* * *

While Madam Pomfrey was looking him over, Harry couldn't sit still. He was too full of adrenaline. He got to his feet, wanting to see what was going on outside, but before he'd reached the mouth of the tent, two people had come darting inside, Hermione, followed closely by Ron.

"Harry, you were brilliant!" Hermione said squeakily. There were fingernail marks on her face where she had been clutching it in fear. "You were amazing! You really were!" Then however she almost instantly shifted moods and said more thoughtfully "But what exactly did you do?"

But Harry was looking at Ron, who was very white and staring at Harry as though he were a ghost.

"Harry," he said, very seriously, "whoever put your name in that goblet - I - I reckon they're trying to do you in!"

At that Harry simply raised an eyebrow. "Caught on, have you?" said Harry coldly.

Hermione stood nervously between them, looking from one to the other. Ron opened his mouth uncertainly. He went to speak but found that sounds didn't seem to want out. He raised his head to look at Harry again and saw him still waiting with one of his eyebrows raised and his face still in the same cold stare.

"I... I am really sorry Harry, that i didn't believe you. I really should have." Ron said his ears as red as they have ever been but his face still the same pale white.

The moment Harry heard the words "i am sorry" from Ron his expression instantly changed. It was as though the last few weeks had never happened. He immediatelly schooled his fetures however and changed back into his cold and curious expression.

"Well" he said, his voice carrying a fake haughty Malfoiesque tone to it, "i suppose if you're sorry i can forgive you. Only on one condition however"

At that Ron seemed to brighten up and yet cower back at the same time."Anything Harry" he said with a weak voice.

Harry then thought he might have gone too far and immediately let his true feelings out with a big grin on his face and said "The next three Hogsmeede visits, drinks at the three broomsticks are on you."

Ron's eyes widened at that for a moment and then an equally as big grin put itself on his face as well."Of course Harry. So... mates?"

"Mates" answered Harry.

Then out of nowhere Hermione burst into tears, taking both the boys out of there happy reunion and leaving them confused and worried.

"You two are so stupid!" she shouted, stamping her foot on the ground, tears splashing down her front. Then, before either of them could stop her, she had given both of them a hug.

Ron untangled himself of her and mouthed at Harry "Barking mad this one."

Harry just chuckled and held her until she seemed to calm down. When she did, Hermione looked up and finally seemed to realise that she just spent about a minute sobbing her eyes out in Harry's embrace. She immediately let go and mumbled an apology that just seemed to make Harry chukle some more.

Ron then, shaking his head said "Harry, c'mon, they'll be putting up your scores..."

Picking up the golden egg, feeling more elated than he would have believed possible an hour ago, Harry ducked out of the tent, Ron by his side, talking fast,"You were the best, you know, no competition. Cedric did this weird thing where he Transfigured a rock on the ground into a dog...he was trying to make the dragon go for the dog instead of him. Well, it was a pretty cool bit of Transfiguration, and it sort of worked, because he did get the egg, but he got burned as well - the dragon changed its mind halfway through and decided it would rather have him than the Pitbull, he only just got away. And Fleur tried this sort of charm, I think she was trying to put it into a trance - well, that kind of worked too, it went all sleepy, but then it snored, and this great jet of flame shot out, and her skirt caught fire - she put it out with a bit of water out of her wand. Krum was probably the best after you, though. Hit it with some sort of spell right in the eye. Only thing is, it went trampling around in agony and squashed half the real eggs - they took marks off for that, he wasn't supposed to do any damage to them."

Hermione however had only one thought running through her mind as she walked by their side, 'this was the first time Harry accepted a hug from me without flinching even once. He even hugged me back. i mean really hugged me back. He doesn't do that to anyone.'

Harry drew breath as the trio reached the edge of the enclosure. Now that the Horntail had been taken away, Harry could see where the five judges were sitting - right at the other end, in raised seats draped in gold.

"It's marks out of ten from each one," Ron said, and Harry squinting up the field saw all five of them looking at him intensly. Then he saw Dumbledore rise and walking towards him followed by Ludo Bagman.

"Harry, my boy" bellowed Bagman,"you certainly know how to make a good show" to which Harry responded with just a nervous chuckle.

"Indeed Harry, you have certainly suprised all of us" followed Dumbledore, the twinkle in his eyes seemingly twinklier than ever."As you know we five" he continued motioning to himself and the other 4 juges, all of which had joined them now,"have to grade your performance. Now that wouldn't be such a difficult task to accomplish normally, except in this particular case we seem to be stumped"

"We have absolutelly no idea what happened here" Bagman bellowed again, obviously not bothered by the fact he just uttered at all. Quite the opposite really.

Dumbledore then took a step towards Harry, "Would you please tell us what happened Harry?" He sounded just as grandfatherly as always but there was something else that sparked in his eyes for a moment, something that seemed to unnerve Harry. It was the same spark that he saw Hermione get sometimes when she found some new magic to research, only much more intense, almost darker. He took a step back that seemed to break the spark's hold over Dumbledore and leave him just for a moment with an expression filled with horror, before he instantly shoolled himself. That seemed to placate Harry cause then he started his explanation.

"Well professor, i personally didn't do anything. It was all her" he said pointing at the spot the dragoness previously fell asleep after bestowing him her gift.

" _Her_ " sounded a voice behind Dumbledore that Harry recognised as Karkaroff's."Who is _Her_. Did you have someone help you boy" he spat out.

Harry laughed at that and answered. "No, by _Her_ i mean the dragoness. After i talked to her and explained everything about the tournament and the nature of the task, she said if i allowed her to test me and see if i was worthy of the gift of her kind, then she would allow me to enter her nest get the golden egg without trouble. When she touched my torso with her snout that was what she called the testing part of the ritual. To be honest i didn't think i would ever get to the actual bestowing part. But apparently i was worthy so... Oh the bestowing part of the ritual is actually that big dome of fire created by the burning of a piece of magic by both the bestower and the bestowee...Is that right, bestowee?" hea finished with a frown on his face.

Dumbledore chuckled at that, his eyes back to the normal twinkle they had when dealing with his students."No Harry, not quite right" he said with obvious mirth in his voice."I have two questions for you though. First, how exactly did you talk to the Hungarian Horntail."

Harry obviously relieved to have his normal Headmaster back seemed to get a skeptical expression on his face whe he heard that question."Well i spoke parseltongue of course. Didn't you hear me? i was speaking pretty loudly." he said.

To that all judges seemed to stiffen.

"You are a parselmouth", Karkaroff said with obvious disgust in his voice. Harry just looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Then he put on a smirk on his face that seemed to say 'yes i am a parselmouth, go whine to your former master about it, _he_ gave the ability to me'. The one who broke the silence however was suprisingly Hermione

"But Harry" she said while almost whispering "you didn't speak parseltongue. You didn't say anything. You just stood there in front of a huge dragon and just looked at it. Next thing we know you had it's head cradled on your chest." With every word Hermione's voice seemed to get higher and her eyes started watering.

"What" asked Harry, clearly confused." but i'm certain i did speak parseltongue. Sure it sounds like normal english to me but how did she understand me and i understand her then?"

"You certainly did not speak parseltongue Harry. Even if you did, it wouldn't do you any good. Parseltounge is the language of serpents and as such allows you to speak to all serpents, both normal and magical. Dragons however are not serpents, they are reptiles. Therefore they cannot be spoken to with parseltongue" said Dumbledore

"OOOhh" was Harry's ingenius reply.

"Moving on however, you said something about a gift Harry. Am i right to assume that you acquired it?" the Headmaster continued.

That seemed to snap Harry out of it."Yes professor i did" he answered and then proceeded to again take of his champion's robes to show them the mark on his heart (something that seemed to make Hermione go almost as red in the face as weasly hair, too bad he didn't seem to notice). When he himself looked down however he saw that his new mark seemed to have a white shimmering glow. Then he turned towards Dumbledore. H saw he was leaning forward looking at his scar intently. He finally raised his head and looked at Harry and with aworried expression asked."How does it feel Harry".

Harry then struggled to focus his senses, which seemed to be all over the place by then, to the dragon mark. "It feels great actually" he answered after severall moment's of deliberation."It kinda feels like a warming charm localised right at my heart" That seemed to calm Dumbledore down.

"Ahem" Crouch cleared his throat and proceeded to talk for the first time "this is all well and good ladies and gentlemen but we do have a competition to run here, and Mr Potter needs to get his score"

That seemed to wake everyone up, and the judges all went back up their seats. Harry then put his robes back on and waited for his scores

The first judge - Madame Maxime - raised her wand in the air. What looked like a long silver ribbon shot out of it, which twisted itself into a large figure nine.

"Not bad!" said Ron as the crowd applauded."I suppose she took marks off for the scare the dome gave the crowd."

Mr. Crouch came next. He shot a number nine into the air.

"Looking good!" Ron yelled, thumping Harry on the back.

Next, Dumbledore. He put up a ten. The crowd was cheering harder than ever.

Ludo Bagman - ten.

And now Karkaroff raised his wand. He paused for a moment, and then a number shot out of his wand too - five.

"What?" Ron bellowed furiously. "Five? You lousy, biased scum-bag, you gave Krum ten!"

But Harry didn't care, he wouldn't have cared if Karkaroff had given him zero. His heart felt lighter than air as he turned to leave the enclosure. The applause he was getting with each score were tremendous... and those weren't only Gryffindors cheering in the crowd. When it had come to it, when they had seen what he was facing, most of the school had been on his side as well as Cedric's...He didn't care about the Slytherins, he could stand whatever they threw at him now.

"You're in first place, Harry!" said Charlie Weasley, hurrying to meet them as they set off back toward the school. "Listen, I've got to run, I've got to go and send Mum an owl, I swore I'd tell her what happened - but that was unbelievable! Oh yeah - and they told me to tell you you've got to hang around for a few more minutes...Bagman wants a word, back in the champions' tent."

Hermione and Ron said they would wait, so Harry reentered the tent, which somehow looked quite different now: friendly and welcoming. He thought back to how he'd felt while talking to the dragoness, and compared it to the long wait before he'd walked out to face it...There was no comparison; the wait had been immeasurably worse.

Fleur, Cedric, and Krum all came in together. One side of Cedric's face was covered in a thick orange paste, which was presumably mending his burn. He grinned at Harry when he saw him.

"Good one, Harry."

"And you," said Harry, grinning back.

"Well done, all of you!" said Ludo Bagman, bouncing into the tent and looking as pleased as though he personally had just got past a dragon. "Now, just a quick few words. You've got a nice long break before the second task, which will take place at half past nine on the morning of February the twenty-fourth, but we're giving you something to think about in the meantime! If you look down at those golden eggs you're all holding, you will see that they open...see the hinges there? You need to solve the clue inside the egg - because it will tell you what the second task is, and enable you to prepare for it. All clear? Sure? Well, off you go, then!"

Harry left the tent, rejoined Hermione and Ron, and they started to walk back around the edge of the forest, talking hard; Harry wanted to hear what the other champions had done in more detail and ron and hermione wanted every single detail about what he had done. Then, as they rounded the clump of trees behind which Harry had first heard the dragons roar, that was when it happened. Harrystopped talking and his face immediatelly took a vacant look. Before either ron or Hermione could ask Harry what happened his eyes seemed to roll to the back of his head and he fell to the ground like a sack of bricks. Before he fully lost consciousness however he managed to hear Hermione sreaming at Ron to get some help.

What none of the three friends were able to catch was a small beetle flying away. The same beetle that was hanging from one Ronald Weasly's pant leg ever since he entered the champion's tent

 **-"-**

 _Two days later_

Harry was feeling very good. He was lying down on a surface so warm and comfortable he never wanted to stand up. So he didn't. After a while though he figured that going back to sleep didn't appear to be possible so he endevoured to open his eyes and sit up his bed.

When he did though he was greeted not with the roof of his four-poster bed but instead the ceiling of the Hospital Wing. Then everything that happened immediatelly came back to him. He sat up his bed and looked around. Next to him on the bedstand were his glasses and the golden egg. Harry instictively picked up his glasses and put them on. When he went to pick up the egg however something was off. He had to squint to see it. At first he thought that his eyesight became worse but when he took them off he realised that it was exactly the opposite. He started putting them on and taking them off in rapid succesion to verify this. He was right, he saw much better without glasses on. In fact he could see better than ever.

He put the glasses back on the bedstand and started looking around, finally concentrating more on his surroundings. He saw Ron to his left liyng down on a makeshift bed of three chairs stacked tightly next to each other, and on his right he saw Hermione with a book on her lap and her head slumped down the side also asleep. He smiled. This was how things were supposed to be and without making a sound leaned back on his bed becoming comfortable. He was observing both his friends, to his suprise Ron was sleeping without even the hint of a snore probably for the first time in his life. hermione on the other hand he seemed to look at much more. She looked really tired. Her eyes had bags under them and they were mildly swollen, like she had been crying right before falling asleep. Right on qeue, as soon as he thought of that he saw a fresh tear fall from her closed eyes. It send a stab of pain through his entire body. He knew that the reason she had been crying was him.

He reached out his hand and with his fingers as gently as possible he wiped the tear away. That however seemed to wake her.

She crinkled her nose for a moment and then her own hands came up to her eyes. Only one of them reached them however since the other was tangled with Harry's hand before he managed to pull it back.

When she opened her eyes fully and looked at him, she squeeked "Harry, you re awake." and then procceded to launch herself at him throwing both herself and Harry back onto Harry's bed.

"Are you okay, how are you feeling, does your scar hurt, should i get madam pomfrey?" she asked one question after the other after sitting on top of Harry in a rather scandalous position.

"Ahem" sounded someone at the edge of the bed."Miss Granger, your concern for Mr Potter, is very touching to witness, but i believe you would not want to be in such a position should someone less understanding than myself happened to enter the hospital wing."

Hermione turned around and who she saw standing there was none other than the headmaster of Hogwarts, on professor Albus Dumbledore. She immediately got herself untangled from Harry and procceded to starighten herself out on her chair whle at the same time mumbling in a very weak voice things like, "sorry", "cant believe..." and "professor Dumbledore of all people... such a position... so embarassed", to which the headmaster simply chuckled in response.

"Now paroting miss Granger's previous questions, i trust you are feeling well Harry?" he said turning to Harry.

"What" asked Harry finally removing his gaze from Hermione. "Oh, yes i'm feeling great" he said. Then he took on a thoughtful look and continued,"In fact i feel even better than that" as he said that he smiled a smile so bright, the entire hospital wing was illuminated (or so Hermione would claim in years to come)."It's probably the first time my scar hasn't hurt at all in..." Harry seemed to hesitate but before he managed to change the subject Dumbledore beat him to it, a stern expresion on his face.

"What do you mean by that" he asked. "How long has your scar hurt before now?"

Harry seemed uncomfortable and tried to change the subject. "It's nothing professor, i didn't... i mean, it's..." His attempts to find an excuse for what he said failed before thay even left his mouth.

"Then Dumbledore, even traditional everyday twinkle gone(A/N:jeez how many time do i have to write twinkle),looking Harry straight in the eye said "Harry what are you not telling me."

When he saw his Headmaster in what can only be described in a furious state Harry couldn't help but shrink back.

"Well, you see professor i... I dont really know... where to start." said Harry dragging every word out of his mouth with great difficulty.

"Well the begining is allways a good place" said Dumbledore his voice and features softening.

That seemed to help harry relax and start his tale.

"Well you see professor, ever since i woke up at the end of first year after the whole thing with quirell, Voldemort and the Stone, my scar has never stopped hurting even for a second" When Harry said this, dumbledore's face went as white as the sheets Harry was laying down on. Seeing this Harry was quick to reassure him "It hasnt hurt much, in fact on a scale of one to ten i'd say it has probably been a two and a very occasional three, mostly when i'm angry. I dont even notice it anymore. Actually if Hermione hadn't just asked wether my scar hurt just now, it would take a lot longer for me to notice it doesn't anymore."

"Why do i get the feeling you are understating things Harry" said Dumbledore.

"I'm not, i really have gotten used to it" replied Harry desperatelly. "Besides it doesn't hurt anymore"

Dumbledore kept looking at Harry with a rather inquisitive look, like he was a n enigma to be deciphered. He then went on "Very well if it has stopped then i will defer to your judgement. However if it acts up again i want the first thing you do to be informing me, is that clear." and after harry's affirmative nod he continued "Good, now on to the matter at hand, i would ask that you tell me exactly what happened during the First Task."

And tell him harry did, in every detail he could remember. Hermione to his right seemed to make different noises in different parts of the story, while Ron still seemed to sleep away in his makeshift bed to his right. When he was done Dumbledore wore a thoughtfull expression. He finally spoke

"And you have no idea what this gift actually does?" he asked

Harry answered "No, sir i dont. In fact i dont think the dragoness did either, she only seemed to know of the ritual's existence and the steps to performing it."

"Well then we will just have to figure out the effects of it withtime i suppose" Dumbledore finally said his eyes' brightness spparking back into gear and a big smile gracing his lips.

"How can you two talk about this so calmly" whispered Hermione in a way tht both Harry and professor dumbledore heard her as clear as day."We are talking about an uknown ritual heere. Who knows what it could do to you Harry." she continued her voice gaining strength "It could... it could... _kill you_ " she said her voice going backto a whisper for the last words, as if just talking about it would somehow make it real.

"Oh i don't think that is the case Miss granger." replied Dumbledore his smile still present "Harry said the ritual was a way to bestow a blessing of the dragons to a human according to the _dragoness?_ is it" he said while looking at Harry for confirmation. Harry just nodded. "And of course blessings rarely kill their recipients. Now for the record Harry i would like you to concentrate and tell me exactly what kind of differences you can feel in yourseld." said Dumbledore once again gaining a thought ful expression.

Harry did exactly that. He got up moved around a bit and made a mental note of all the faculties he could think of then answered. " Well not much really, i seem to be able to move a little better than i used to, and of course there is the fact that my scar doesn't hurt anymore. Oh and i dont need glasses anymore. Found that out right before Hermione woke up." at that Hermione gasped and turned her head toward the bedstand to see his glasses on top of it next to the egg. Then she turned back towards harry and thought 'Of course, no wonder i keep staring at him in the eyes. I can finally see them without thoose infernal things in the way' and then proceeded to blush.

"From what you describe to me Harry it seems the blessings effects have mostly been physical" Said Dumbledore, his hand reaching up to his beard."Which of course fits well with the nature of dragons in general. I imagine that if the blessing is strong enough you might develop some enhanced natural physical defences against jinxes, curses and pretty much any kind of spell cast on your body, much like dragons have. That is of course provided the blessing itself is acually permanent. Anything else you can think of that seems different" he asked

Harry started thinking while pacing arounfd the room and then turned towards Dumbledore "Actually there is one thng" he said with a sheepish smile on his face. As if on qeue a growl echoed across the hospital wing that seemed to have it's source in Harry stomach.

"I am starving"

* * *

 **Well that's chapter 2. Please review and vote on my cedric poll**


	3. Dreams and task 1 point 5

**Disclaimer: Again i do not own Harry Potter**

"speech"

'thoughts'

§parseltongue§

* * *

The next couple of days passed rather fast for Harry despite how hectic they were.

After Dumbledore left the Hospital Wing, before calling the elves to bring Harry something to eat, a fact that instantly put a scowl on Hermione's face,Ron finally woke up. Possibly by the smell of food. Harry of course normally would offer both of his friends to eat with him but so hungry he was, the moment the food was brought in front of him, he started gulping it down in a manner that made even Ron stare with a gaped mouth.

"Harry slow down" said Hermione, looking at him with apprehension."Nobody's gonna take it from you. For Merlin's sake, you're eating like Ron."

"Oi, what is that supposed to mean" barked Ron. Hermione's exasperated look though seemed to cow him back a little. "Well anyway" he then said turning to Harry with a grin on his face and patting Harry's back," don't listen to her mate, you're a growing lad, eat up." Ron was definately eager to get back to his friend's good graces.

At this Harry simply stared between his two friends and after turning to Hermione simply put on a charming half-grin and shrugged, before going back to devouring his food.

That seemed to mellow her ire somewhat. "Well at least you're actually using your utensils to eat, unlike some people are wont to do" she added looking at Ron who then procceded to mumble something about "mental"

After Harry was done eating, madame Pomfrey, came in and shooed his friends out, saying she needed to examine Harry. Her scans showed that Harry was perfectly healthy physically. Too healthy in fact. All signs of old injuries and malnourishment, that seemed to plague him from the first time he walked in-well more like was carried in- the hospital wing seemed to have faded almost completelly. The scars and marks were still there of course, but they had almost no effect on his body's performance and health like they used too, and she had no idea how that could be.

After finishing her examination, she admited that Harry seemed to be in perfect condition to be let out. That didn't stop her from trying to dissuade him from checking out and insist he stayed another day or two for observation. Harry however was eager to get out of there even more than usual it seemed. He thanked her for her care and concern and procceded to almost run out of there with the golden egg in hand. He managed to catch up to Hermione and Ron just as they reached the Fat Lady's portrait. After answering questions on how he was and how come madame Pomfrey let him out so early (most of them coming from Hermione), the now finally fully reunited trio got inside the common room.

When they entered the common room, no Gryffindor lounging inside noticed that Ron and Hermione weren't alone like previous nights. The one who did was actually Neville who just got down from picking up one of the books Moody gave him from his trunk to read in front of the fire.

"Harry!" he exclaimed and run towards him,"you're finally up". That seemed to turn the heads of everyone there.

Before he knew it Harry was surrounded by pretty much everyone, getting pats on the back, being congrtulated for passing the First Task and all that.

'And to think that some, if not most, of these people were calling me a cheat or a liar not three days ago.' Harry thought inwardly and was about to express himself in a not so pleasant manner on it. Another voice though in his head seemed to think otherwise. ' Be careful how you hold your grudges, you sound like Snape.'

When that thought passed through his head Harry shivered in disgust and immmediatelly changed gears. He was now content to let bygones be bygones.

'I don't really know most of them anyway besides just as acquaintances. What could i possibly gain from holding a grudge against them.' So he simply smiled and thanked them for their support. After a while all of Gryffindor had returned to the common room to find it ina state of celebration. Harry's return it seemed had resulted in a full blown victory party. Fred and George had sneaked in food from the kitchens like usual and Dean along with some of the seventh years had managed to conjure some poorly drawn banners of a black dragon spouting white flames. It seemed the fact that Harry had recieved a blessing from the Horntail had been already spread throughout the whole school, despite the fact that nobody knew what that meant. Thankfully none of them were tactless enough to ask him about it, instead feeling content to celebrate the victory of Gryffindor's _"Dragonlord champion"_ as they had dubbed him.

When Harry first heard his new _title_ he immediately got a compicated expression on his face. It seemed that collecting all those insuferrable _names_ was to be his lot in life.

'Well at least this one is not hiphenated' he joked inwardly trying to make himself feel better. His attention was caught however by Lee Jordan who had gotten hold of the egg,which Harry had left on a table.

"Blimey, this is heavy," he said."Open it, Harry, go on! Let's just see what's inside it!"

"He's supposed to work out the clue on his own," Hermione said swiftly. "It's in the tournament rules..."

"I was supposed to work out how to get past the dragon on my own too," Harry muttered, so only Hermione could hear him, and she grinned rather guiltily.

"Yeah, go on, Harry, open it!" several people echoed.

Lee passed Harry the egg, and Harry dug his fingernails into the groove that ran all the way around it and prised it open.

It was hollow and completely empty - but the moment Harry opened it, the most horrible noise, a loud and screechy wailing, filled the room. The nearest thing to it Harry had ever heard was the ghost orchestra at Nearly Headless Nick's deathday party, who had all been playing the musical saw.

"Shut it!" Fred bellowed, his hands over his ears.

"What was that?" said Seamus Finnigan, staring at the egg as Harry slammed it shut again. "Sounded like a banshee...Maybe you've got to get past one of those next, Harry!"

"It was someone being tortured!" said Neville, who had gone very white and spilled sausage rolls all over the floor. "You're going to have to fight the Cruciatus Curse!"

"Don't be a prat, Neville, that's illegal," said George. "They wouldn't use the Cruciatus Curse on the champions. I thought it sounded a bit like Percy singing...maybe you've got to attack him while he's in the shower. Harry."

Everyone then started telling him their theories on what the wailing meant, but Harry wasn't particularly listening. Instead he focused himself on the treats the twins had brought back from the kitchens. Despite having eaten just a few hours ago, he seemed to get hungry the moment he focused on food.

'It's probably a side effect of the blessing' thought Harry. ' I've never been so hungry before in my life. I'm eating creme caramels for Merlin's sake. I hate creme caramels' he continued inwardly while still stuffing himself. Next to him were Fred and Hermione talking.

"Want a jam tart, Hermione?" said Fred.

Hermione looked doubtfully at the plate he was offering her. Fred grinned.

"It's all right," he said. "I haven't done anything to them. It's the custard creams you've got to watch -"

Neville, who had just bitten into a custard cream, choked and spat it out. Fred laughed.

"Just my little joke, Neville..."

Hermione took a jam tart. Then she said, "Did you get all this from the kitchens, Fred?"

"Yep," said Fred, grinning at her. He put on a high-pitched squeak and imitated a house-elf. "'anything we can get you, sir, anything at all!' They're dead helpful...get me a full roastes cow if I said I was peckish."

"How do you get in there?" Hermione said in an innocently casual sort of voice.

"Easy," said Fred, "concealed door behind a painting of a bowl of fruit. Just tickle the pear, and it giggles and -" He stopped and looked suspiciously at her. "Why?"

"Nothing," said Hermione quickly.

"Going to try and lead the house-elves out on strike now, are you?" said George. "Going to give up all the leaflet stuff and try and stir them up into rebellion?"

Several people chortled. Hermione didn't answer.

"Don't you go upsetting them and telling them they've got to take clothes and salaries!" said Fred warningly. "You'll put them off their cooking!"

Just then, Neville caused a slight diversion by turning into a large canary.

"Oh - sorry, Neville!" Fred shouted over all the laughter. "I forgot - it was the custard creams we hexed -"

Within a minute, however, Neville had molted, and once his feathers had fallen off, he reappeared looking entirely normal. He even joined in laughing.

"Canary Creams!" Fred shouted to the excitable crowd. "George and I invented them - seven Sickles each, a bargain!"

It was nearly one in the morning when Harry finally went up to the dormitory with Ron, Neville, Seamus, and Dean. Before he pulled the curtains of his four-poster shut. Harry set his tiny model of the Hungarian Horntail on the table next to his bed, where it yawned, curled up, and closed its eyes. 'Really', Harry thought again, as he pulled the hangings on his four-poster closed, 'Hagrid does have a point...they are all right, dragons...'

His mind, now that his body was at rest, started running through all the changes he felt since he woke up. Most of them were physical just like Dumbledore said. He seemed to move faster than before even at regular walking speed, he didn't get tired easily as evidenced by climbing six flights of stairs to get from the Hospital wing at the first floor to the gryffindor common room entrance at the seventh floor without losing his breath, and of course his eyesight. As he kept thinking however he noticed other changes he didn't before.

First was his hearing. When he opened the egg the wailing seemed to effect him more than the rest in the room. Of course that could be because he was closest to it than anyone else, but then that wouldn't explain how he could hear all his dormmates' breathing despite Ron snoring away in the next bed.

Then there were his Robes. When he first got out of the Hospital Wing he didn't notice it, but as he was getting ready for bed he noticed that his robes were hanging at his ankles instead of the upper part of his soles like they should. He seemed to have grown an inch in just two days.

By then however he had become so tired he simply wished to forget everything and fall asleep. And fall asleep he did after absent-mindedly casting a silencing charm around him preventing any sound to reach his bed.

So fast did he fall asleep, that he failed to notice that not only did he cast the charm without a single sound coming from his mouth, but also that no sound could be heard from every single cubic inch of the entire Gryffindor Tower for the rest of the night.

That night Harry had the most peacefull sleep he had had since forever. He did dream, however it was neither a Voldemort dream nor a run of the mill nightmare. Harry actually didn't know how to describe it. The only word that seemed to fit was peacefull.

He dreamt that he was curled atop a mound of white sand, the sun hitting him with comfortably hot rays and the sound of waves in the distance almost hypnotising him to sleep, and he would have slept if it wasn't for the fact that he was already in a dream. The only movement he attempted to make was lazily move his wings back and forth so that the black birds that circled around him wouldnt perch on him... 'Wait wings!' Harry thought. 'Why do i have wings'. The moment he thought of that a shadow was cast on his head. He raised it towards the sun and saw a creature flying in the face of it. Then came a cry from it that seemed to call him. The cry wasn't like any bird Harry had ever heard. In fact it sounded nothing like a bird, it sounded like... a lion?

That however was when he woke up. He didn't jump up from his bed nor did his eyes swing wide open. He just woke up lke every other normal person for the first time since forever, with most of the dream forgoten. The only part he remembered was the creature's cry. He seemed to thnk it was important. He knew that whatever it was, it was calling out to him, but he didn't know why. Unfortunatelly as he slipped more and more into consciousness, his mind shifted and stopped thinking about the dream alltogether. He got up and saw that the dorm was empty.

'That's odd' he thought, 'Usually Ron is the last one to wake up, from the five of us.'

He got dressed, got his books for the day and got down to the common room. There he saw Ron and Hermione talking to each other..

"...who it could be" he heard Ron saying.

"It was probably one of the seventh years, but whoever it was, he or she is very powerful" replied Hermione. That was when Harry intervened.

"What's going on guys?" he asked.

"Harry you're awake" asked Hermione with a smile she was clearly happy she haad her best-friend back. Even if he was unconscious for just two days.

"Hey mate, nothing much. Just the entire Gryffindor tower waking up to find that making even the most minute sound in the entire tower to be impossible." Ron piped up.

"What?" asked Harry with the most confused expression on his face. "What do you mean, what happened?"

"Well Harry, it seems that when some of the early risers of our House got up this morning, they discovered that the entire Gryffindor tower, was under a very powerful silencing charm." Hermione replied." That wasn't the interesting part however. It seems that when they called professor McGonagal to dispel it she couldn't do it. Instead she had to call professor Dumbledore, and when even he couldn't do it, they had to work together. Even then it took them ten minutes to do the whole tower."

Harry's eyebrows shot up t that."Who could have possibly done that" he asked.

"That's just it" replied Ron," nobody relly knows. Dumbledore seemed to have an inkling, but he told us nothing."

"Most of the upper years seemed to think it was a prank." Hermione continued, "probably make the Gryffindors oversleep and not show up at classes"

"It was probably the Snakefaces." Ron continued, his voice carrying the same bile it did everytime he spoke of anything pertaining to Slytherin house. "Or it could be the Puffs. I reckon they can't be too happy with you outscoring their Golden boy Diggory in the First Task"

'That doesn't sound right' thought Harry. "Anyway, if Dumbledore knows who it was then it doesn't really matter" he finally said. He already had way too many things on his mind right now, what with the tournament and the dragon mark on his chest, he really didn't need anything else to worry about. "So are you guys coming up fromm breakfast or going down, cause i could really use a bite right about now." he said tapping his hands on his belly. So they went down to the Main Hall and finally started their everyday routine.

-"-

The start of December brought wind and sleet to Hogwarts. Drafty though the castle always was in winter. Harry was glad of its fires and thick walls every time he passed the Durmstrang ship on the lake, which was pitching in the high winds, its black sails billowing against the dark skies. He thought the Beauxbatons caravan was likely to be pretty chilly too. Hagrid, he noticed, was keeping Madame Maxime's horses well provided with their preferred drink of single-malt whiskey; the fumes wafting from the trough in the comer of their paddock was enough to make the entire Care of Magical Creatures class light-headed. This was unhelpful, as they were still tending the horrible skrewts and needed their wits about them.

"I'm not sure whether they hibernate or not," Hagrid told the shivering class in the windy pumpkin patch next lesson. "Thought we'd jus' try an see if they fancied a kip...we'll jus' settle 'em down in these boxes..."

The class looked dispiritedly at the enormous boxes Hagrid had brought out, all lined with pillows and fluffy blankets.

"We'll jus' lead 'em in here," Hagrid said, "an' put the lids on, and we'll see what happens."

But the skrewts, it transpired, did not hibernate, and did not appreciate being forced into pillow-lined boxes and nailed in. Hagrid was soon yelling, "Don panic, now, don' panic!" while the skrewts rampaged around the pumpkin patch, now strewn with the smoldering wreckage of the boxes. Most of the class - Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle in the lead - had fled into Hagrid's cabin through the back door and barricaded themselves in; Harry, Ron, and Hermione, however, were among those who remained outside trying to help Hagrid. Together they managed to restrain and tie up nine of the skrewts, though at the cost of numerous burns and cuts.

"Well, well, well...this does look like fun."

Rita Skeeter was leaning on Hagrid's garden fence, looking in at the mayhem. She was wearing a thick magenta cloak with a furry purple collar today, and her crocodile-skin handbag was over her arm.

"Who're you?" Hagrid asked Rita Skeeter as he slipped a loop of rope around a skrewt's sting and tightened it.

"Rita Skeeter, Daily Prophet reporter," Rita replied, beaming at him. Her gold teeth glinted.

"Thought Dumbledore said you weren' allowed inside the school anymore," said Hagrid, frowning slightly as he got off the slightly squashed skrewt and started tugging it over to its fellows.

Rita acted as though she hadn't heard what Hagrid had said.

"What are these fascinating creatures called?" she asked, beaming still more widely.

"Blast-Ended Skrewts," grunted Hagrid.

"Really?" said Rita, apparently full of lively interest. "I've never heard of them before...where do they come from?"

Harry noticed a dull red flush rising up out of Hagrid's wild black beard, and his heart sank. Where had Hagrid got the skrewts from? Hermione, who seemed to be thinking along these lines, said quickly, "They're very interesting, aren't they? Aren't they. Harry?"

"What? Oh yeah...ouch...interesting," said Harry as she stepped on his foot.

"Ah, you're here. Harry!" said Rita Skeeter as she looked around. "So you like Care of Magical Creatures, do you? One of your favorite lessons?"

"Yes," said Harry stoutly. Hagrid beamed at him.

"Lovely," said Rita. "Really lovely. Been teaching long?" she added to Hagrid.

"This is o'ny me second year," said Hagrid.

"Lovely...I don't suppose you'd like to give an interview, would you? Share some of your experience of magical creatures? The Prophet does a zoological column every Wednesday, as I'm sure you know. We could feature these - er - Bang-Ended Scoots."

"Blast-Ended Skrewts," Hagrid said eagerly. "Er - yeah, why not?"

Harry had a very bad feeling about this, but there was no way of communicating it to Hagrid without Rita Skeeter seeing, so he had to stand and watch in silence as Hagrid and Rita Skeeter made arrangements to meet in the Three Broomsticks for a good long interview later that week. Then the bell rang up at the castle, signaling the end of the lesson.

"Well, good-bye, Harry!" Rita Skeeter called merrily to him as he set off with Ron and Hermione. "Until Friday night, then, Hagrid!"

"She'll twist everything he says," Harry said under his breath.

"Just as long as he didn't import those skrewts illegally or anything," said Hermione desperately. They looked at one another - it was exactly the sort of thing Hagrid might do.

"Hagrid's been in loads of trouble before, and Dumbledores never sacked him," said Ron consolingly. "Worst that can happen is Hagrid'll have to get rid of the skrewts. Sorry...did I say worst? I meant best."

Harry and Hermione laughed, and, feeling slightly more cheerful, went off to lunch.

Harry thoroughly enjoyed double Divination that afternoon. They were still doing star charts and predictions, but now that he and Ron were friends once more, the whole thing seemed very funny again. Professor Trelawney, who had been so pleased with the pair of them when they had been predicting their own horrific deaths, quickly became irritated as they sniggered through her explanation of the various ways in which Pluto could disrupt everyday life. She then proceeded to for the jillionth time predict Harry's death

"You'd think she'd have run out of ways to do that, yet they all seem to be both inventie and original, she should be writing fiction not teaching Divination"Harry said as they finally regained the fresh air of the staircase beneath Professor Trelawney's room. "If I'd dropped dead every time she's told me I'm going to, I'd be a medical miracle."

Ron chortled at that. "At least we didn't get homework. I hope Hermione got loads off Professor Vector, I love not working when she is..."

But Hermione wasn't at dinner, nor was she in the library when they went to look for her afterward. The only person in there was Viktor Krum. Ron hovered behind the bookshelves for a while, watching Krum, debating in whispers with Harry whether he should ask for an autograph - but then Ron realized that six or seven girls were lurking in the next row of books, debating exactly the same thing, and he lost his enthusiasm for the idea.

"Wonder where she's got to?" Ron said as he and Harry went back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Dunno...balderdash."

But the Fat Lady had barely begun to swing forward when the sound of racing feet behind them announced Hermione's arrival.

It seemed that Hermione had finally visited the kitchens. She grabbed them both and led them back there. Ron was vocally reluctant as soon as he figured out where she was taking them.

"Hermione!" said Ron, cottoning on. "You're trying to rope us into that spew stuff again!"

"No, no, I'm not!" she said hastily. "And it's not spew, Ron -"

"Changed the name, have you?" said Ron, frowning at her. "What are we now, the House-Elf Liberation Front? I'm not barging into that kitchen and trying to make them stop work, I'm not doing it -"

"I'm not asking you to!" Hermione said impatiently. "I came down here just now, to talk to them all, and I found - oh come on, Harry, I want to show you!"

It seemed that what Hermione discovered in the kitcens was none other than Dobby. The House-Elf that almost killled harry during second year by trying to save him.

Dobby was very excited to see the Great Harry Potter Sir again. After talking with him and finding out how he ended up working at Hogwats **and** was getting paid for it, they came across Winky. Unlike Dobby she was miserable as a free Elf and had started drinking. Time passed as they spoke to both Elves, Hermione seemed to focus on Winky trying to calm her down, comfort her and generaly get her to change her mind about freedom. That of course had the opposite result, as it only made Winky dislike her more and more. Finally they left the kitchens, Harry and Roon carrying way more food than should be possible in their hands.

-"-

"Potter! Weasley! Will you pay attention?"

Professor McGonagall's irritated voice cracked like a whip through the Transfiguration class on Thursday, and Harry and Ron both jumped and looked up.

It was the end of the lesson; they had finished their work, they had copied down their homework from the blackboard. The bell was due to ring at any moment, and Harry and Ron, who had been having a sword fight with a couple of Fred and George's fake wands at the back of the class, looked up.

"Now that Potter and Weasley have been kind enough to act their age," said Professor McGonagall, with an angry look at the pair of them "I have something to say to you all.

"The Yule Ball is approaching - a traditional part of the Triwizard Tournament and an opportunity for us to socialize with our foreign guests. Now, the ball will be open only to fourth years and above - although you may invite a younger student if you wish -"

Lavender Brown let out a shrill giggle. Parvati Patil nudged her hard in the ribs, her face working furiously as she too fought not to giggle. They both looked around at Harry, Professor McGonagall ignored them.

"Dress robes will be worn," Professor McGonagall continued, "and the ball will start at eight o'clock on Christmas Day, finishing at midnight in the Great Hall. Now then -"

Professor McGonagall stared deliberately around the class.

"The Yule Ball is of course a chance for us all to - er - let our hair down," she said, in a disapproving voice.

Lavender giggled harder than ever, with her hand pressed hard against her mouth to stifle the sound. Harry could see what was funny this time and actually smiled. Professor McGonagall, with her hair in a tight bun, looked as though she had never let her hair down in any sense.

"But that does NOT mean," Professor McGonagall went on, "that we will be relaxing the standards of behavior we expect from Hogwarts students. I will be most seriously displeased if a Gryffindor student embarrasses the school in any way."

The bell rang, and there was the usual scuffle of activity as everyone packed their bags and swung them onto their shoulders.

Professor McGonagall called above the noise, "Potter - a word, if you please."

Harry proceeded gloomily to the teacher's desk thinking he was in trouble. Professor McGonagall waited until the rest of the class had gone, and then said, "Potter, the champions and their partners -"

"What partners?" said Harry.

Profesor McGonagall looked suspiciously at him, as though she thought he was trying to be funny.

"Your partners for the Yule Ball, Potter," she said coldly. "Your dance partners."

Harry's insides seemed to curl up and shrivel.

"Dance partners?" He felt himself going red. "I don't dance," he said quickly.

"Oh yes, you do," said Professor McGonagall irritably. "That's what I'm telling you. Traditionally, the champions and their partners open the ball."

Harry had a sudden mental image of himself in a top hat and tails, accompanied by a girl in the sort of frilly dress Aunt Petunia always wore to Uncle Vernon's work parties.

"I'm not dancing," he said.

"It is traditional," said Professor McGonagall firmly. "You are a Hogwarts champion, and you will do what is expected of you as a representative of the school. So make sure you get yourself a partner, Potter."

"Am i really though" replied Harry with venom in his voice. "Am i really a Hogwarts champion". That suprised Profesor McGonagall. She had never heard Harry talk back with such contempt, not to her at least. That suprised her.

"Let's be honest profesor" he continued,"sure i passed the First Task okay, but we both know that in whatever way my name came out of that damned Goblet, it was not as a Hogwarts champion. Cedric is the Hogwarts champion, i'm the "pretender" or "liar" or cheater" champion as some of our students have taken to calling me when my back is turned." By the time he got to the end Harry's voice had taken a mild shrilly tone."Who am i going to ask as my date anyway. Most girls my age would just spent the night giggling and asking me wether i put my name in the goblet or not." he finished with a hharumph.

Profesor McGonagal was a stern woman. But she was also fair. If anyone else had talked back to her with that tone she would have their hide, student or not. But loath as she were to admit it, Potter men have always had a special place in her heart, ever since Charlus. She could tell that Harry's outburst wasn't directed at her. It was the sum of all the things he had been through this year that was the target of his ire. That is why she simply advised him as best she could as his profesor and Head of House.

"While your participation to the tournament is under protest Mr Potter, and your represantation of Hogwarts murky at best in its nature, given no other known alternative as you are a Hogwarts student you are undeniably a Hogwarts champion." When he heard that, harry's eyes went wide. Noone had called him a Hogwarts champpion from the moment his name came out of the goblet. Even those that believed him from the start like Hermione had never done it. He then lowered his head in shame, for his outburst and felt his eyes begining to water.

"Now as for your partner," profesor McGonagall continued with a much softer tone than before," i would suggest you ask someone who you trust and think is less likely to do those things you are worried about. Now if that is all" she finished and turned back towards her desk.

"Umm,... i'm sorry profesor, i didn't mean... i shouldn't have burst like that... Thank you" harry said his cheeks flashed from embarassment and then left the classroom in a hurry.

A week had passed and Harry still remembered what McGonagal said to him that day. He had already decided to follow her advice in finding a date. The answer seemed to elude him however. Who did he know that wouldn't giggle, wouldn't ask him about his dubious champion status and of course was pretty enough to take to a ball? It was one night he spent watchng the miniature Horntail fly circles above his bed, waiting for sleep that Harry finally figured it out. It was so obvious he was suprised it took him so long. She was definitly one of the prettiest girls in the school he thought, she almost never giggled, and she believed he didn't put his name in the goblet, from the moment his name came out of it. She was the perfect date to the Ball Harry thought as he closed his eyes to sleep while miling wide and thinking

'I'm going to ask Hermione to the Ball'

* * *

 **Well that's chapter 3. Please review and vote on my cedric poll**


	4. The Ball!

**Disclaimer: Again i do not own Harry Potter**

"speech"

'thoughts'

§parseltongue§

* * *

A week ago. Harry would have said asking a girl to the dance would be a cinch compared to taking on a Hungarian Horntail. But now that he had done the latter, and was facing the prospect of asking a girl to the ball, he thought he'd rather have another round with the dragon.

Harry had never known so many people to put their names down to stay at Hogwarts for Christmas; he always did, of course, because the alternative was usually going back to Privet Drive, but he had always been very much in the minority before now. This year, however, everyone in the fourth year and above seemed to be staying, and they all seemed to Harry to be obsessed with the coming ball, or at least all the girls were, and it was amazing how many girls Hogwarts suddenly seemed to hold; he had never quite noticed that before. Girls giggling and whispering in the corridors, girls shrieking with laughter as boys passed them, girls excitedly comparing notes on what they were going to wear on Christmas night...

"Why do they have to move in packs?" Ron asked Harry as a dozen or so girls walked past them, sniggering and staring at Harry. "How're you supposed to get one on their own to ask them?"

"Lasso one?" Harry suggested chuckling

"Got any idea who you're going to try?" Ron asked

Harry didn't answer. He knew perfectly well whom he'd like to ask, but working up the nerve was something else...It's not like asking one of your best friends to a ball is an everyday occurence in life.

"Listen, you're not going to have any trouble. You're a champion" said Ron sensing his friend's nevousness." And you've been blessed by a Hungarian Horntail. I bet they'll be queuing up to go with you."

In tribute to their recently repaired friendship, Ron had kept the bitterness in his voice to a bare minimum. Moreover, to Harry's amazement, he turned out to be quite right.

A curly-haired third-year Hufflepuff girl to whom Harry had never spoken in his life asked him to go to the ball with her the very next day. Harry was so taken aback he said no before he'd even stopped to consider the matter. The girl walked off looking rather hurt, and Harry had to endure Dean's, Seamus's, and Ron's taunts about her all through History of Magic. The following day, two more girls asked him. He said no to them too.

Hermione's words about Krum kept coming back to him. "They only like him because he's famous!" Harry doubted very much if any of the girls who had asked to be his partner so far would have wanted to go to the ball with him if he hadn't been a school champion.

On the whole. Harry had to admit that even with the embarrassing prospect of opening the ball before him, life had definitely improved since he had got through the first task. He wasn't attracting nearly as much unpleasantness in the corridors anymore, which he suspected had a lot to do with Cedric - he had an idea Cedric might have told the Hufflepuffs to leave Harry alone, in gratitude for Harry's tip-off about the dragons. There seemed to be fewer Support Cedric Diggory badges around too. Draco Malfoy, of course, was still quoting Rita Skeeter's article to him at every possible opportunity, but he was getting fewer and fewer laughs out of it - and just to heighten Harry's feeling of well-being, no story about Hagrid had appeared in the Daily Prophet.

"She seemed very int'rested in magical creatures, ter tell yeh the truth, 'specially dragons, what with the Firs' task 'n all" Hagrid said, when Harry, Ron, and Hermione asked him how his interview with Rita Skeeter had gone during the last Care of Magical Creatures lesson of the term. To their very great relief, Hagrid had given up on direct contact with the skrewts now, and they were merely sheltering behind his cabin today, sitting at a trestle table and preparing a fresh selection of food with which to tempt the skrewts.

"Dragons 'n Harry 'course." Hagrid continued in a low voice. "Well, I told her we'd been friends since I went ter fetch yeh from the Dursleys. 'Never had to tell him off in four years?' she said. 'Never played you up in lessons, has he?' I told her no, an she didn' seem happy at all. Yeh'd think she wanted me to say yeh were horrible, Harry."

"'Course she did," said Harry, throwing lumps of pig liver into a large metal bowl and picking up his knife to cut some more with a bit more force than necessary. "She can't keep writing about what a tragic little hero I am, it'll get boring. Now with this damned blessing i'm carrying around in my chest like a medal, i'm suprised she hasn't kidnapped me to force me to answer all her questions."

"You coming to the ball on Christmas Day, Hagrid?" said Hermione trying to change the subject and calm Harry down.

Little did she know that the moment the word "Ball" came out of _her_ lips Harry's insides started squishing themselves, and he caught himself looking at her more intently that would be considered appropriate.

"Though' I might look in on it, yeah," said Hagrid gruffly, noticing Harry's reaction. "Should be a good do, I reckon. You'll be openin the dancin', won yeh, Harry? Who're you takin'?"

"No one, yet," said Harry, feeling himself going red, while inwardly chastising himself for being found out so easily. Hagrid, fortunately, didn't pursue the subject.

The last week of term became increasingly boisterous as it progressed. Rumors about the Yule Ball were flying everywhere, though Harry didn't believe half of them - for instance, that Dumbledore had bought eight hundred barrels of mulled mead from Madam Rosmerta. It seemed to be fact, however, that he had booked the Weird Sisters. Exactly who or what the Weird Sisters were Harry didn't know, never having had access to a wizard's wireless, but he deduced from the wild excitement of those who had grown up listening to the WWN (Wizarding Wireless Network) that they were a very famous musical group.

Some of the teachers, like Professor Flitwick, gave up trying to teach them much when their minds were so clearly elsewhere; he allowed them to play games in his lesson on Wednesday. Other teachers were not so generous. Nothing would ever deflect Professor Binns, for example, from plowing on through his notes on goblin rebellions - as Binns hadn't let his own death stand in the way of continuing to teach, they supposed a small thing like Christmas wasn't going to put him off. It was amazing how he could make even bloody and vicious goblin riots sound as boring as Percy's cauldron-bottom report. Professors McGonagall and Moody kept them working until the very last second of their classes too, and Snape, of course, would no sooner let them play games in class than adopt Harry. Staring nastily around at them all, he informed them that he would be testing them on poison antidotes during the last lesson of the term.

"Evil, he is," Ron said bitterly that night in the Gryffindor common room. "Springing a test on us on the last day. Ruining the last bit of term with a whole load of studying."

"Mmm...you're not exactly straining yourself, though, are you?" said Hermione, looking at him over the top of her Potions notes. Ron was busy building a card castle out of his Exploding Snap pack - a much more interesting pastime than with Muggle cards, because of the chance that the whole thing would blow up at any second.

"It's Christmas, Hermione," said Harry lazily; he was rereading Flying with the Cannons for the tenth time in an armchair near the fire.

Hermione looked severely over at him too. "I'd have thought you'd be doing something constructive, Harry, even if you don't want to learn your antidotes!"

"Like what?" Harry said

"That egg!" Hermione hissed.

"Come on, Hermione, I've got till February the twenty-fourth," Harry said.

He had put the golden egg upstairs in his trunk and hadn't opened it since the celebration party. There were still two and a half months to go until he needed to know what all the screechy wailing meant, after all.

"But it might take weeks to work it out!" said Hermione. "You're going to look a real idiot if everyone else knows what the next task is and you don't!"

Harry knew she was right. He really didn't have as much time as it seemed. It was just difficult for him to think about it though at the moment. Two things seemed to plague his mind these days. One, was of course Hermione. How in the hell was he going to ask her, he was running out of time too, and second was the dream he had the first night he came back from the Hospital Wing. He started having it every night. He still couldn't remember most of it every time he woke up, but that call from the mysterious creature in the sky seemed to get clearer and more urgent with each dream.

"Leave him alone, Hermione, he's earned a bit of a break," said Ron, and he placed the last two cards on top of the castle and the whole lot blew up, singeing his eyebrows, providing a well timed distraction for both Harry and Hermione.

"Nice look, Ron...go well with your dress robes, that will."

It was Fred and George. They sat down at the table with Harry, Ron, and Hermione as Ron felt how much damage had been done.

"Ron, can we borrow Pigwidgeon?" George asked.

"No, he's off delivering a letter," said Ron. "Why?"

"Because George wants to invite him to the ball," said Fred sarcastically.

"Because we want to send a letter, you stupid great prat," said George.

"Who d'you two keep writing to, eh?" said Ron.

"Nose out, Ron, or I'll burn that for you too," said Fred, waving his wand threateningly. "So...you lot got dates for the ball yet?"

"Nope," said Ron.

"Well, you'd better hurry up, mate, or all the good ones will be gone," said Fred.

"Who're you going with, then?" said Ron.

"Angelina," said Fred promptly, without a trace of embarrassment.

"What?" said Ron, taken aback. "You've already asked her?"

"Good point," said Fred. He turned his head and called across the common room, "Oi! Angelina!"

Angelina, who had been chatting with Alicia Spinnet near the fire, looked over at him.

"What?" she called back.

"Want to come to the ball with me?"

Angelina gave Fred an appraising sort of look.

"All right, then," she said, and she turned back to Alicia and carried on chatting with a bit of a grin on her face.

"There you go," said Fred to Harry and Ron, "piece of cake."

He got to his feet, yawning, and said, "We'd better use a school owl then, George, come on..."

"Wait!" exclaimed Harry,"you can use Hedwig if you want. It will actually be good for her, haven't sent her out with a letter for some time. She could use the exercise."

"Oh, thanks Harry" answered George

"Can you just wait an hour or so before we go to the Owlery. Still have to study for potions" he said while looking from them to Hermione, who had gotten back to studying her notes. Then turning back to them he started tilting his head lightly towards Ron.

The twins followed his gaze. Then they got what he meant. "Actually Harry it's really urgent" said George with a grin on his face.

"Yes, it really cant wait" continued Fred

"Say maybe Ron can Take us." they then said at the same time. That seemed to wake Ron up.

"No i won't" said Ron eyeing them suspiciously. Every time his brothers said something at the same time it never meant good for the one they were talking about.

Fred then put his arms on Ron's shoulders and whispered "do you really wanna stay here and study _Potions_ of all things, little brother"

Ron turned to where Hermione and Harry now sat. He really didn't trust his brothers, but he also reeeeeaaaally hated potions, so it wasn't a suprise when he decided to go with the twins.

Harry then turned from the common room entrance where he saw the three Weasly brothers leave, towards Hermione, still so absorbed in her notes she probably didn't hear what just occured.

'What does she have written there, the key to immortality?' thought Harry as he got out his own notes. Curiosity got the best of him though, so he leaned towards Hermione his head right next to hers, to get a better look at them. Hermione it seemed wasn't studying for Snape's poison test at all, instead she had notes of a potion that was three chapters forward in their textbook, as Harry recalled from when he perused it in the summer.

"Exactly how many weeks ahead of lessons are you Hermione?" asked Harry chuckling, his head still right next to Hermione's.

"Hm, not that many" answered Hermione moving even an inch,"just three or four". When she finally registered the sarcasm and mirth in Harry's voice she finally raised her head to look at him and said "Ha,Ha, very funny Harry"

Harry was full out laughing right now.

"I was just wondering" he said trying to choke down his laughter. "I was going to ask you for help revising for the test on poisons. But i think i can wait for you to finish studing ahead"

"Why thank you very much for your graciousness, Mr Potter" said Hermione, her voice full of sarcasm but her lips turned into a smile.

"Don't mention it Miss Granger" replied Harry.

"I do have one question for you though, that cant wait anymore" he continued all laughter leaving his voice and turning serious.

"What is it" asked Hermione curious.

'Here goes' thought Harry. "Will you go to the ball with me Hermione?" he blurted out. Did he have to go red now? Why?

Hermione just stood there. Her face seemed calm and stunned at the same time. 'Did i hear right?' she asked herself. Harry on the other hand still red from embarassment was getting more antsy with each second that passed.

"Why?" Hermione finally asked.

"Ummm..." was Harry's ingenious response. "Because i asked?" asked Harry now confused out of his mind. 'Is this how this is supposed to go' he wondered.

"No, i mean why ask me?" said Hermione. Then she had a lightbulb moment and raised her eyebrows, "Did Cho say no?"

"Who said what?" asked Harry not realising he could get any more confused."You mean Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw Seeker? Why would i ask her?"

"Because you fancy her." said Hermione matter-of-factly and with some force in her voice

"I do?" asked Harry now finally seem to get a grasp on things.

"Of course you do" answered Hermione in the same tone. "Don't you...?" she then procceded to ask now worried she misunderstood her best friend.

"Not to my knowledge" Harry said now smirking."The one i'm asking is you" he continued.

Hermione finally blushed. She never thought Harry would ask her to the ball, she didn't think he saw her as a girl, let alone be his first choice. 'Wait am i his first choice?' she thought. She couldn't help it, she asked

"Am i your first choice?" her voice was little more than a whisper. Harry probably wouldn't be able to hear it if not for his improved hearing.

"Yes you are" he answered his voice as stedy as he could make it."And not to put any pressure on you or anything" he continued his voice and face going softer,"but i could really use a reply"

Hermione's reaction however threw him off. It seemed she had gone completely white with fright.

"Oh!" she said going even whiter. "Oh Harry, I'm really sorry," and she truly looked it. "I've already said I'll go with someone else."

"Oh," said Harry.

It was odd, a moment before his insides had been writhing like snakes, but suddenly he didn't seem to have any insides at all.

"Oh okay," he said, "no problem."

"I'm really sorry," she said again.

"That's okay," said Harry.

They stood there looking at each other. Finally Harry couldn't handle the silence.

"Just do me one favor then" he said

"Anything Harry, anything" Hermione responded looking hopefully at him.

"Save me a dance at least?" he asked putting on a bright smile that would have won him severall oscars if you compared it to how he was actually feeling inside.

It seemed to work because after a moment Hermione shot a sweet smile at him and said "Of course Harry, as many dances as you want."

They both then proceeded to awkwardly pretend to change their focus on their potions notes untill Ron came back.

Ron,however, didn't come back. When the door to the common room opened it was a very irrate pair of twins that entered and treaded straight to Harry.

"That owl of yours is really something" said George to Harry looking halfway between amused and angry

"What happened" asked Harry worried but still glad for the distraction.

"Ron calls her over and before we can give her the letter, she starts trying to peck our eyes out." answered Fred.

"What did you do" askedd Harry now laughing, "and where is Ron"

"We don't know. He bolted the moment Hedwig attacked and left us to defend ourselves alone the " _Lionheart"_ " Said George sneering, or was it Fred? oh well one of the twins.

"Alright, alright, just give me the letter. I'll send it" said Harry eager to get out of the common room and away from Hermione."Who is it for anyway?" he asked when the twins handed him the letter.

"Bagman" said the twins together, "and no it's none of your business what it says"

Harry then raised his hands in surrender and procceded to the owlery.

Once there he expected to see Hedwig in a right pissed of state. What he saw however was anything but. Hedwig was perched on a girls forearm hooting happily at the treats she was given.

"Hey Susan" said Harry instantly recognising the girl as Susan Bones.

"Hey Harry" said Susan after turning around and giving Hedwig another treat.

"Well it seems i have to thank you for calming down Hedwig" Harry continued smiling slightly. He didn't know Susan all that well, but the fact that Hedwig seemed too trust her certainly made her alright in his book.

"Yeah, she was really agitated a few minutes ago. I think one of the Weaslys pulled one of her feathers. I wont name names but i think it was the one whose name starts with an R." said Susan while petting Hedwig and smiling.

"Yeah i figured that much" answered Harry. He then outstretched his arm forward waiting for Hedwig to come to him.

"So what brings you by" asked Harry now trying to tie the letter to Hedwig's leg.

"That's a terrible way to make small talk" said Susan chuckling, which also made Harry laugh.

"Well i'm trying" replied Harry turning to Susan with a smile now ready to send Hedwig on her way."I think that, at least deserves a reply."

"I suppose" said Susan."I'm actually here to send a message to my aunt Amy, to tell her i'm going home for christmas."

"You're not going to the ball?" asked Harry. He thought every single girl in all of Hogwarts would want to go.

"I would" she answered,"but my date got a case of wizard's flu and wont be able to leave the Hospital Wing until at least three days after the ball." she said her disappointment obvious in her voice.

"Wanna go with me?" asked Harry before he could realise. He didn't know what brought it on. He was about to ask Susan to forget he asked until he heard a voice in his head, 'Why" it said,'She's a girl without a date and you a guy whose sole choice already has a date, and you are one of the few people who actually **has to go**.' As he thought that he turned to face Susan again. She was looking at him with suprise.

"You want to go with me?" she asked suprised.

"Umm, yes. I mean i did ask. You don't have a date, i don't have a date. So...why not?" he explained, suprised at how easy it was for him to talk to her. She regerded him for a minute.

"Yes, all right then," she said finally, blushing furiously.

"Thanks," said Harry, in relief."I'll pick you up at about half an hour before the Ball starts in front of the Hufflepuff common room. Champions apparently have to open the Ball." he said amused at Susan's suprised reaction to that

"They do" answered Susan her eyes wide.

"Yes we do" said Harry."Also i would have to ask you to prepare your toes for slaughter" he continued in a mock serious tone that made Susan smile"because we also have to open the dancing"

Susan on her part just giggled, a fact tht kind off struck at Harry's nerves a bit, and said "See you then" and left the owlery without having to mail her letter.

Harry then sent hedwig on her way to Bagman and then left for the Gryffindor common room.

When he arrived there he saw Hermione and Ron, who had a scratch on his cheek courtesy of Hedwig, talking.

"A pair of...what, excuse me?" Hermione sputtered

"Trolls" said Ron, shrugging. "I'd rather go alone than with - with Eloise Midgen, say."

"Her acne's loads better lately - and she's really nice!"

"Her nose is off-center," said Ron.

"Oh I see," Hermione said. "So basically, you're going to take the best-looking girl who'll have you, even if she's completely horrible?"she asked resignedly.

"Er - yeah, that sounds about right," said Ron.

"I'm going to bed," Hermione said the moment she realised Harry had come in the room, and she swept off toward the girls' staircase without another word.

"What was that about." asked Harry when he reached Ron.

"The Ball" answered Ron"About how we should get a move on, you know...ask someone. We don't want to end up with a pair of trolls."

"I suppose there's always Moaning Myrtle," he said Jokingly, referring to the ghost who haunted the girls' toilets on the second floor.

"Harry - we've just got to grit our teeth and do it," said Ron, in a tone that suggested they were planning the storming of an impregnable fortress. "When we get back to the common room tommorow night, we'll both have partners - agreed?"

"Er...okay," said Harry. He didn't want to tell Ron he already had a date. Because then Ron would tell Hermione and his instincts told him Hermione finding out Harry got a date a few minutes after admitting she was his first choice wouldn't go over well.

-"-

Next day, the Hogwarts staff, demonstrating a continued desire to impress the visitors from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, seemed determined to show the castle at its best this Christmas. When the decorations went up. Harry noticed that they were the most stunning he had yet seen inside the school. Everlasting icicles had been attached to the banisters of the marble staircase; the usual twelve Christmas trees in the Great Hall were bedecked with everything from luminous holly berries to real, hooting, golden owls, and the suits of armor had all been bewitched to sing carols whenever anyone passed them. It was quite something to hear "O Come, All Ye Faithful" sung by an empty helmet that only knew half the words. Several times, Filch the caretaker had to extract Peeves from inside the armor, where he had taken to hiding, filling in the gaps in the songs with lyrics of his own invention, all of which were very rude.

After Snape's Test on poisons, Harry went alone for a walk around the grounds. He dreamt again that night. Only this time he actually remembered the fact that he had wings too. He had no idea what to make of it. It was very unusual for him to have any meaningfull dreams that weren't about Voldemort. This dream however was something completely new. His Voldemort dreams were always on the third person and he seemed to be just a passerby watching through glass,or at least that's what it felt like. The dream he was having now however seemed to be put inside his head by someone else. It wasn't Voldemort, Harry knew, it didn't feel like him. No, whoever was sending these dreams to him though powerful, felt nothing like Voldemort. Of course, one might think that it could be possible that Voldemort simply disguised his power to contact him but Harry dropped that idea the moment it came to him. Truth is Harry had felt that particular kind of power before just one year ago. At the time his suspicion however was ludicrous and turned out to have a rational, (well semi-rational) explanation. It was at the bank of the Black Lake when his future self had saved him and his Godfather from a swarm of Dementors. Back then he thought the one who conjured up the stag was his father but his hopes were of course crushed. This time however he was sure that it wasn't. Well, more like he was determined not to get his hopes up unnecessarily at least.

And that was the exact same spot he found his feet had taken him now. The same spot he and his Godfather had almost lost their souls almost half a year ago. He looked around. Noone in sight.. He closed his eyes, focusing on the memories of that day first and then on what he remembered of the dream. That's when it came to him like a wave from the deepest parts of the abyss. A light seemed to burn his irises even if his eyes were closed. He found himself drowning in the emotions of joy and happiness he knew enveloped witches and wizards when near a patronus, only they seemed a hundred times stronger than his own stag patronus. And then, just like that the feeling was gone. So fast and so sudden that it brought Harry to his knees. He opened his eyes, now watering from the intensity of the experience. He was shaking all over. Looking around frantically for any sign of a patronus or at least patronus-like spell. There was nothing there, he was alone. Then he turned towards the lake and whispered before managing to catch himself,

"Dad,... is it actually you this time..." he waited. No answer came. He felt like crying, then he felt angry at himself, then he just plain felt angry. He kicked some dirt up in the air

'This is stupid' he thought,' I have more important things to think about than some silly dream that probably means nothing.' He then started jogging back to the castle while berrating himself for believing in a dream.

He got to the castle and then procceded to walk to The Gryffindor common room, if anything at least calmer than he was at the lake.

"Fairy lights," he said dully to the Fat Lady - the password had been changed the previous day.

"Yes, indeed, dear!" she trilled, straightening her new tinsel hair band as she swung forward to admit him.

Entering the common room, Harry looked around, and to his surprise he saw Ron sitting ashen-faced in a distant corner. Ginny was sitting with him, talking to him in what seemed to be a low, soothing voice.

"What's up, Ron?" said Harry, joining them.

Ron looked up at Harry, a sort of blind horror in his face.

"Why did I do it?" he said wildly. "I don't know what made me do it!

"What?" said Harry.

"He - er - just asked Fleur Delacour to go to the ball with him," said Ginny. She looked as though she was fighting back a smile, but she kept patting Ron's arm sympathetically.

"You what?' said Harry.

"I don't know what made me do it!" Ron gasped again. "What was I playing at? There were people - all around - I've gone mad - everyone watching! I was just walking past her in the entrance hall - she was standing there talking to Diggory - and it sort of came over me - and I asked her!"

Ron moaned and put his face in his hands. He kept talking, though the words were barely distinguishable.

"She looked at me like I was a sea slug or something. Didn't even answer. And then - I dunno - I just sort of came to my senses and ran for it."

"She's part veela," said Harry trying to comfort him. "You were right - her grandmother was one. It wasn't your fault"

"Did you get a date Harry"asked Ginny nonchalantly. Ron had told her that Harry didn't have a date yet either.

"Um, yes actually. Susan Bones, i'm going with her" Harry said.

Ginny had suddenly stopped smiling.

"This is mad," said Ron. "I'm the only one left who hasn't got anyone - well, except Neville. Hey - guess who he asked? Hermione!"

"What?" said Harry, completely distracted by this startling news.'Is Hermione going with Neville?' thought Harry.'Is that why she won't go with me'

"Yeah, I know!" said Ron, some of the color coming back into his face as he started to laugh. "He told me after Potions! Said she's always been really nice, helping him out with work and stuff- but she told him she was already going with someone. Ha! As if! She just didn't want to go with Neville...I mean, who would?"

"Don't!" said Ginny, annoyed. "Don't laugh -"

Just then Hermione climbed in through the portrait hole.

"Why weren't you two at dinner?" she said, coming over to join them.

"Because - oh shut up laughing, you two - because Harry was asking Susan Bones to the Ball and Ron was getting turned down by Fleur!" said Ginny.

That shut Harry and Ron up.

"Thanks a bunch, Ginny," said Ron sourly.

"All the good-looking ones taken, Ron?" said Hermione loftily. "Eloise Midgen starting to look quite pretty now, is she? Well, I'm sure you'll find someone somewhere who'll have you."

She seemed to actively avoid Harry's gaze from the moment she came in and her knuckles seemed to turned white the moment Susan's name was uttered.

Ron, however, was staring at Hermione as though suddenly seeing her in a whole new light.

"Hermione, Neville's right - you are a girl..."

"Oh well spotted," she said acidly.

"Well - you can come with me!"

"No, I can't," snapped Hermione.

"Oh come on," he said impatiently, "I need a date, i'm going to look really stupid if i haven't got one, everyone else has..."

"I can't come with you," said Hermione, now blushing, "because I'm already going with someone."

"No, you're not!" said Ron. "You just said that to get rid of Neville!"

"Oh did I?" said Hermione, and her eyes flashed dangerously."Well next time you try asking me to the Ball before the last minute" she said in answer to Ron's remark. The one she was looking at however with fury and lightning in her eyes was Harry.

And she stormed off toward the girls' dormitories.

"She's lying," said Ron flatly, watching her go.

"She's not," said Ginny quietly.

"Who is it then?" said Ron sharply.

"I'm not telling you, it's her business," said Ginny.

"Right," said Ron, who looked extremely put out, "this is getting stupid. Who am i going to go with? Actually who are you going with Ginny?"

"I'm going with - with Neville. He asked me when Hermione said no, and I thought...well...I'm not going to be able to go otherwise, I'm not in fourth year." She looked extremely miserable. "I think I'll go and have dinner," she said, and she got up and walked off to the portrait hole, her head bowed.

Ron goggled at Harry.

"What's got into them?" he demanded.

Harry shrugged. "No idea". In the privacy of his own mind however he was seething

'What the hell, was that supposed to mean' he thought angrily.'How was i supposed to know she wanted me to ask her?' As that thought passed his head he seemed to pause.

'Merlin, she wanted me to ask her' he realized, his anger evaporating, and he was left staring at the stairs of the girl's dormitories very confused.'But what exactly does that mean' he finally questioned himself

He was still trying to figure that out as he was getting ready to sleep in his dorm. When he reached his bed however his mind seemed to agree with his body in that all of this could wait for tommorow. He literally fell on his bed ready to sleep.

That was when Ron decide to speak to him.

"Psst, Harry you awake?" he whispered

"What is it Ron." answered Harry sighing. 'Let me sleep for merlin's sake' he thought.

"Do you really think Hermione has a date, or is she just trying to not go with anyone" asked Ron

"I don't thin she's lying Ron" said Harry adjusting himself on the bed. "I asked her yesterday to go with me and she said the exact same thing."

"Wait what!" exclaimed Ron now sitting up and trying to make out Harry through the curtains of his four-poster."You asked her to the Ball? And she said no? to you?"

"Yes Ron isn't that what i just said" said Harry feeling exasperated. "Now go to sleep, or at least let me go to sleep"

"Just one last question" whispered Ron urgently.

"Are you, umm..., i mean do you, fancy her, Harry" he asked forcing the words out of his mouth

"What kind of question is that" said harry now also sitting up.

"It's a question now answer it." replied Ron now impatient.

Harry opened his mouth ready to say no. He didn't utter a singe sound however. Did he fancy Hermione? It was actually a pretty logical question on Ron's part. He did ask her to the Ball after all. Without actually having to even. He started thinking about Hermione. She was one of his best friends. Well his only best friend it would seem if Ron kept acting the way he has been acting since the start of this year. Sure he enjoyed her company, he missed her when she was away but that could all be explained as simple friendship. Then he started thinking of all the times he had spent alone with her this year. This year had been life-changing for Harry. He finally realised that the world outside Hogwarts actually existed and if first impressions were anything to go by, it wasn't very inviting. The one person that stayed with him through the toughest time was Hermione, and he loved her for that. Was it the romantic kind of love, however, that he didn't know. Then his mind went to a far off memory he had.

When he was around eight years-old, one time at the children's library in Surrey he had watched the old librarian there read a fairy tail to him and his class. It was a normal fairy tale with knights princesses, dragons and the power of love that conquers all and all that "codswallop" as his uncle had put it. When the story was done however he timidly approached her and asked something that seemed to bother him those days. "How can you tell if you love someone" he asked. Of course the sweet old librarian thought the little boy in front of her had a little crash on a girl probably, even if he was a little too young for it and answered appropriately." Well" she said,"you know you love someone when the mere thought of them leaving upsets you. When having them around makes you wanna smile, and them leaving makes you want to cry". Harry of course did not have a crush on a girl back then. What he wated to know was what love _is_. He had no knowledge of it, given that all his memories where those of the Dursleys. That fact alone left him with absolutely no sense of what love is.

Now however he seemed to find a use for that sweet old librarian's words. He asked himself, what do i feel when Hermione's around. The answer was simple, he felt happy, calm, strong even. Now the tough part, what do i feel when she is not here. He found he could bring to mind no memories of Hermione not being there when it mattered. He had to force himself to imagine what he would feel. So he started picturing how he would deal with all this Tournament business if Hermione wasn't there for him. The room immediately went cold, Harry started shivering. If he didn't know any better he would say there was probably a Dementor nearby. The lack of reaction from Ron and his other dormmates though told him otherwise. He obviously had his answer so he gave it.

"Yes Ron. Yes, i do." he said with a straight face. He then laid back down to his bed and pulling the covers above his head, leaving Ron,Neville,Dean and Seamus(who had started eavesdropping at the conversation) looking at him with wide eyes and open mouths.

Suffice to say that sleep did not come easily after that.

-"-

Despite the very heavy load of homework that the fourth years had been given for the holidays. Harry was in no mood to work when term ended, and spent the week leading up to Christmas enjoying himself as fully as possible along with everyone else. Gryffindor Tower was hardly less crowded now than during term-time; it seemed to have shrunk slightly too, as its inhabitants were being so much rowdier than usual. Fred and George had had a great success with their Canary Creams, and for the first couple of days of the holidays, people kept bursting into feather all over the place. Before long, however, all the Gryffindors had learned to treat food anybody else offered them with extreme caution, in case it had a Canary Cream concealed in the center, and George confided to Harry that he and Fred were now working on developing something else. Harry made a mental note never to accept so much as a crisp from Fred and George in future. He still hadn't forgotten Dudley and the Ton-Tongue Toffee.

Snow was falling thickly upon the castle and its grounds now. The pale blue Beauxbatons carriage looked like a large, chilly, frosted pumpkin next to the iced gingerbread house that was Hagrid's cabin, while the Durmstrang ship's portholes were glazed with ice, the rigging white with frost. The house-elves down in the kitchen were outdoing themselves with a series of rich, warming stews and savory puddings, and only Fleur Delacour seemed to be able to find anything to complain about.

"It is too 'eavy, all zis 'Ogwarts food," they heard her saying grumpily as they left the Great Hall behind her one evening (Ron skulking behind Harry, keen not to be spotted by Fleur). "I will not fit into my dress robes!"

"Oooh there's a tragedy," Hermione snapped as Fleur went out into the entrance hall. "She really thinks a lot of herself, that one, doesn't she?"

"Hermione - who are you going to the ball with?" said Ron.

He kept springing this question on her, hoping to startle her into a response by asking it when she least expected it. However, Hermione merely frowned and said, "I'm not telling you, you'll just make fun of me."

"You're joking, Weasley!" said Malfoy, behind them. "You're not telling me someone's asked that to the ball? Not the long-molared Mudblood?"

Harry and Ron both whipped around, but Hermione said loudly, waving to somebody over Malfoy's shoulder, "Hello, Professor Moody!"

Malfoy went pale and jumped backward, looking wildly around for Moody, but he was still up at the staff table, finishing his stew.

"Twitchy little ferret, aren't you, Malfoy?" said Hermione scathingly, and she, Harry, and Ron went up the marble staircase laughing heartily.

Then they heard the hooting of an owl nearby. "Oh look Pigwidgeon's back" said Hermione

Ron's tiny owl was twittering madly on the top of the icicle-laden banisters, a scroll of parchment tied to his leg. People passing him were pointing and laughing, and a group of third-year girls paused and said, "Oh look at the weeny owl! Isn't he cute?"

Stupid little feathery git!" Ron hissed, hurrying up the stairs and snatching up Pigwidgeon. "You bring letters to the addressee! You don't hang around showing off!"

Pigwidgeon hooted happily, his head protruding over Ron's fist. The third-year girls all looked very shocked.

"Clear off!" Ron snapped at them, waving the fist holding Pigwidgeon, who hooted more happily than ever as he soared through the air. "Here - take it, Harry," Ron added in an undertone as the third-year girls scuttled away looking scandalized. He pulled Sirius's reply off Pigwidgeons leg. Harry pocketed it, and they hurried back to Gryffindor Tower to read it.

Everyone in the common room was much too busy in letting off more holiday steam to observe what anyone else was up to. Ron, Harry, and Hermione sat apart from everyone else by a dark window that was gradually filling up with snow, and Harry read out:

 _Dear Harry,_

 _Congratulations on passing the First Task. Whoever put your name in that goblet shouldn't be feeling too happy right now! I was going to suggest a Conjunctivitus Curse, as a dragon's eyes are its weakest point - "_ That's what Krum did!" Hermione whispered _\- but your way was better, I'm impressed._

 _Don't get complacent, though. Harry. You've only done one task; whoever put you in for the tournament's got plenty more opportunity if they're trying to hurt you. Keep your eyes open -particularly when the person we discussed is around and concentrate on keeping yourself out of trouble._

 _Keep in touch, I still want to hear about anything unusual._

 _Sirius_

"He sounds exactly like Moody," said Harry quietly, tucking the letter away again inside his robes. "'Constant vigilance!' You'd think I walk around with my eyes shut, banging off the walls..."

"But he's right, Harry," said Hermione, "you have still got two tasks to do. You really ought to have a look at that egg, you know, and start working out what it means..."

"Hermione, he's got ages!" snapped Ron. "Want a game of chess, Harry?"

"Yeah, okay," said Harry. Then, spotting the look on Hermione's face, he said, "Come on, how'm I supposed to concentrate with all this noise going on? I won't even be able to hear the egg over this lot."

"Oh I suppose not," she sighed, and she sat down to watch their chess match, which culminated in a suprising checkmate of Harry's, involving a couple of recklessly brave pawns and a very violent rook. Harry could be seen dancing in celebration of his first victory over Ron at chess for ten minutes after that. After about an hour though he was sitting in his seat grumbling away about how chess is stupid. Ron it seemed had simply been complacent in their first match and procceded to absolutely wreck Harry in the next four. Enhanced strategic thinking was apparently not one of the parts of the dragons' blessing. It did get Hermione to pat his back and sweetly comfort him however so... not a total loss.

Harry awoke very suddenly on Christmas Day. Wondering what had caused his abrupt return to consciousness, he opened his eyes, and saw something with very large, round, green eyes staring back at him in the darkness, so close they were almost nose to nose.

"Dobby!" Harry yelled, scrambling away from the elf so fast he almost fell out of bed. "Don't do that!"

"Dobby is sorry, sir!" squeaked Dobby anxiously, jumping backward with his long fingers over his mouth. "Dobby is only wanting to wish Harry Potter 'Merry Christmas' and bring him a present, Sir! Harry Potter did say Dobby could come and see him sometimes, sir!"

It's okay," said Harry, still breathing rather faster than usual, while his heart rate returned to normal. "Just - just prod me or something in future, all right, don't bend over me like that..."

Harry pulled back the curtains around his four-poster. His yell had awoken Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville. All of them were peering through the gaps in their own hangings, heavy-eyed and tousle-haired.

"Someone attacking you, Harry?" Seamus asked sleepily.

"No, it's just Dobby," Harry muttered. "Go back to sleep."

"Nah...presents!" said Seamus, spotting the large pile at the foot of his bed. Ron, Dean, and Neville decided that now they were awake they might as well get down to some present-opening too. Harry turned back to Dobby, who was now standing nervously next to Harry's bed, still looking worried that he had upset Harry. There was a Christmas bauble tied to the loop on top of his tea cozy.

"Can Dobby give Harry Potter his present?" he squeaked tentatively.

"'Course you can," said Harry. "Er...I've got something for you too."

It was a lie; he hadn't bought anything for Dobby at all, but he quickly opened his trunk and pulled out a particularly knobbly rolled-up pair of socks. They were his oldest and foulest, mustard yellow, and had once belonged to Uncle Vernon. The reason they were extra-knobbly was that Harry had been using them to cushion his Sneakoscope for over a year now. He pulled out the Sneako-scope and handed the socks to Dobby, saying, "Sorry, I forgot to wrap them..."

But Dobby was utterly delighted.

"Socks are Dobby's favorite, favorite clothes, sir!" he said, ripping off his odd ones and pulling on Uncle Vernon's. "I has seven now, sir...But sir..." he said, his eyes widening, having pulled both socks up to their highest extent, so that they reached to the bottom of his shorts, "they has made a mistake in the shop, Harry Potter, they is giving you two the same!"

"Ah, no, Harry, how come you didn't spot that?" said Ron, grinning over from his own bed, which was now strewn with wrapping paper. "Tell you what, Dobby - here you go - take these two, and you can mix them up properly. And here's your sweater."

He threw Dobby a pair of violet socks he had just unwrapped, and the hand-knitted sweater Mrs. Weasley had sent, Dobby looked quite overwhelmed.

"Sir is very kind!" he squeaked, his eyes brimming with tears again, bowing deeply to Ron. "Dobby knew sir must be a great wizard, for he is Harry Potter's greatest friend, but Dobby did not know that he was also as generous of spirit, as noble, as selfless -"

"They're only socks," said Ron, who had gone slightly pink around the ears, though he looked rather pleased all the same. "Wow, Harry -" He had just opened Harry's present, a Chudley Cannon hat. "Cool!" He jammed it onto his head, where it clashed horribly with his hair.

Dobby now handed Harry a small package, which turned out to be - socks.

"Dobby is making them himself, sir!" the elf said happily. "He is buying the wool out of his wages, sir!"

The left sock was bright red and had a pattern of broomsticks upon it; the right sock was green with a pattern of Snitches.

"They're...they're really...good, thanks, Dobby," said Harry, and he pulled them on, causing Dobby's eyes to leak with happiness again.

"Dobby must go now, sir, we is already making Christmas dinner in the kitchens!" said Dobby, and he hurried out of the dormitory, waving good-bye to Ron and the others as he passed.

Harry's other presents were much more satisfactory than Dobby's odd socks - with the obvious exception of the Dursleys', which consisted of a single tissue, an all-time low - Harry supposed they too were remember ing the Ton-Tongue Toffee. Hermione had given Harry a book called Quidditch Teams of Britain and Ireland; Ron, a bulging bag of Dungbombs; Sirius, a handy penknife with attachments to unlock any lock and undo any knot; and Hagrid, a vast box of sweets including all Harry's favorites: Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans, Chocolate Frogs, Drooble's Best Blowing Gum, and Fizzing Whizbees. There was also, of course, Mrs. Weasley's usual package, including a new sweater (green, with a picture of a dragon on it - Harry supposed Charlie had told her all about the First Task), and a large quantity of homemade mince pies.

Harry and Ron met up with Hermione in the common room, Harry instantly cracking a smile when he saw Hermione as he was wont to do now, and they went down to breakfast together. They spent most of the morning in Gryffindor Tower, where everyone was enjoying their presents, then returned to the Great Hall for a magnificent lunch, which included at least a hundred turkeys and Christmas puddings, and large piles of Cribbage's Wizarding Crackers.

They went out onto the grounds in the afternoon; the snow was untouched except for the deep channels made by the Durmstrang and Beauxbatons students on their way up to the castle. Hermione chose to watch Harry and the Weasleys' snowball fight rather than join in, and at five o'clock said she was going back upstairs to get ready for the ball.

"What, you need three hours?" said Ron, looking at her incredulously and paying for his lapse in concentration when a large snowball, thrown by George, hit him hard on the side of the head. She just waved and disappeared up the stone steps into the castle.

At seven o'clock, when it had become hard to aim properly, the others abandoned their snowball fight and trooped back to the common room. The Fat Lady was sitting in her frame with her friend Violet from downstairs, both of them extremely tipsy, empty boxes of chocolate liqueurs littering the bottom other picture.

"Lairy fights, that's the one!" she giggled when they gave the password, and she swung forward to let them inside.

Harry, Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville changed into their dress robes up in their dormitory, all of them looking very self-conscious, but none as much as Ron, who surveyed himself in the long mirror in the corner with an appalled look on his face. There was just no getting around the fact that his robes looked more like a dress than anything else. In a desperate attempt to make them look more manly, he used a Severing Charm on the ruff and cuffs. It worked fairly well; at least he was now lace-free, although he hadn't done a very neat job, and the edges still looked depressingly frayed.

Harry also had problems with his robes though. His problem was length. It seemed without even noticing he had grown quite a lot in both height and girth. Actually today was the first day he realized Ron did not tower over him like he used too. When sitting next to him Harry seemed only two three inches max shorter instead of the entire head before. As for girth Harry was still lean, like always. His new found appetite however had shown. He did not become fat, far from it actually, he seemed more muscled than before, which was weird considering he did not have the advantage of quiditch practice this year. His robes therefore despite being bought at a few sizes bigger than his in the summer now dropped at a little above his ankles, which was easily fixes with a small extension charm that Harry had learned for the tournament, and when they were a bit wider in the summer now felt comfortably snug. He looked really good even if he did say so himself Harry thought as the boys set off downstairs.

"I still can't work out how you two got the best-looking girls in the year," muttered Dean.

With Harry being distracted by his discovery of his feelings for Hermione, he didn't notice until yesterday that Ron was actually able to get a date. It seemed Parvati also had no date for the Ball and Ron overheard her complaining one night about it to Lavender. He then went to ask her. It was a messy affair all in all Seamus had described to Harry but in the end Parvati said yes.

"Animal magnetism," said Ron gloomily, pulling stray threads out of his cuffs.

The common room looked strange, full of people wearing different colors instead of the usual mass of black. Parvati was waiting for Ron at the foot of the stairs. She looked very pretty indeed, in robes of shocking pink, with her long dark plait braided with gold, and gold bracelets glimmering at her wrists.

"You - er - look nice," Ron said awkwardly.

"Thanks," she said beaming.

"Where's Hermione?" asked Harry looking around.

Parvati shrugged. "Shall we go down then, Ron?"

"Okay," said Ron

Wishing he could just stay in the common room Harry then left for the Hufflepuff dorms to pick up Susan. Fred winked at him as he passed him on the way out of the portrait hole.

When he reached the Hufflepuff common room entrance he waited a bit before he saw Susan come out. She was looking very beautiful in her dark sea-green dress that seemed to match her eyes.

"Hi" Harry greeted her with a smile."You look beautiful" he said the truth holding nothing back.

Susan smiled and blushed.

"Thank you" she said and then took his offered hand and they were off to the entrance Hall.

The entrance hall was packed with students, all milling around waiting for eight o'clock, when the doors to the Great Hall would be thrown open. Those people who were meeting partners from different Houses were edging through the crowd trying to find one another. It seemed Harry was one of the very few boys who actually went out of his way to pick up his date from her common room. A fact that didn't seem to be ignored by most witches there.

Harry walking around the entrance hall making conversation to pass the time with Susan was looking around for any sign of Hermione. He could not for the life of him see her anywhere. He saw Ron trying to what seemed to be communicate with him using charades from the other side of the room,which he promptly ignored, and he saw Fleur Delacour, looking stunning in robes of silver-gray satin, and accompanied by the Ravenclaw Quidditch captain, Roger Davies, he saw Malfoy wearing dress robes of black velvet with a high collar, which in Harry's opinion made him look like a vicar, with Pansy Parkinson, in very frilly robes of pale pink, clutching Malfoy's arm, but no Hermione,

The oak front doors opened, and everyone turned to look as the Durmstrang students entered with Professor Karkaroff. Krum was at the front of the party, accompanied by a pretty girl in blue robes Harry didn't know. Over their heads he saw that an area of lawn right in front of the castle had been transformed into a sort of grotto full of fairy lights - meaning hundreds of actual living fairies were sitting in the rosebushes that had been conjured there, and fluttering over the statues of what seemed to be Father Christmas and his reindeer.

Then Professor McGonagall's voice called, "Champions over here, please!"

"That's us" said Harry now trying not to throw up from nervousness and gently led Susan forward. Professor McGonagall, who was wearing dress robes of red tartan and had arranged a rather ugly wreath of thistles around the brim other hat, told them to wait on one side of the doors while everyone else went inside; they were to enter the Great Hall in procession when the rest of the students had sat down. Fleur Delacour and Roger Davies stationed themselves nearest the doors; Davies looked so stunned by his good fortune in having Fleur for a partner that he could hardly take his eyes off her. Cedric and Cho were close to Harry too. His eyes then fell on the girl next to Krum. His jaw dropped.

It was Hermione.

But she didn't look like Hermione at all. She had done something with her hair; it was no longer bushy but sleek and shiny, and twisted up into an elegant knot at the back of her head. She was wearing robes made of a floaty, periwinkle-blue material, and she was holding herself differently, somehow - or maybe it was merely the absence of the twenty or so books she usually had slung over her back. She was also smiling - rather nervously, it was true - but she still seemed verry happy.

"Hi, Harry!" she said. "Hi, Susan!"

Hary was unsure what to think. On one hand he was looking at the girl he fancied looking like the absolute definition of jaw-droppingly gorgeous. On the other, here was the girl he fancied looking like the absolute definition of jaw-droppingly gorgeous, with someone else as her date. And not just someone else but one of his supposed rivals in this blasted tournament. He was very conflicted, but at least he managed to send her a wave and a smile that seemed to make her smile a little more than she already was. 'Small victories i suppose' he thought trying to focus on the fact that she was at least happy, 'even if it's not with me' said a rather nasty toned version of his voice in his head, which he proceded to squash immediately.

When the doors to the Great Hall opened, Krum's fan club from the library stalked past, throwing Hermione looks of deepest loathing. Pansy Parkinson gaped at her as she walked by with Malfoy, and even he didn't seem to be able to find an insult to throw at her. Ron, however, walked right past Hermione without looking at her.

Once everyone else was settled in the Hall, Professor McGonagall told the champions and their partners to get in line in pairs and to follow her. They did so, and everyone in the Great Hall applauded as they entered and started walking up toward a large round table at the top of the Hall, where the judges were sitting.

The walls of the Hall had all been covered in sparkling silver frost, with hundreds of garlands of mistletoe and ivy crossing the starry black ceiling. The House tables had vanished; instead, there were about a hundred smaller, lantern-lit ones, each seating about a dozen people.

Harry concentrated on not tripping over his feet and moving forward. Susan next to him seemed rather happy beaming at everyone as she was clutching Harry's arm to the point of it hurting. That seemed to wake Harry up from his Hermione filled haze. 'She's probably really nervous' he thought. He then procceded to clutch her hand tightly to get her attention,which worked, and as she turned towards him, he gave her a reassuring smile and then straightened his posture and walked in a much more dignified manner. That seemed to do the trick as Susan immediately relaxed her clutch on his arm and her smile became much more natural. Knowing that the one next to him was just as or even more nervous than him, gave Harry a sense of confidence he never thought he could muster, and most important of all, it actually showed,as he instantly seemed to grow at least three feet to the ones he was facing at each moment. This was the moment that many people first started whispering the same question that would plague them for years to come: Who is Harry Potter really?

He caught sight of Ron and Parvati as he neared the top table. Ron was watching Hermione pass with narrowed eyes. Parvati was looking sulky.

Dumbledore smiled happily as the champions approached the top table, but Karkaroff wore an expression remarkably like Ron's as he watched Krum and Hermione draw nearer. Ludo Bagman, tonight in robes of bright purple with large yellow stars, was clapping as enthusiastically as any of the students; and Madame Maxime, who had changed her usual uniform of black satin for a flowing gown of lavender silk, was applauding them politely. But Mr. Crouch, Harry suddenly realized, was not there. The fifth seat at the table was occupied by Percy Weasley.

When the champions and their partners reached the table, Percy drew out the empty chair beside him, staring pointedly at Harry. Harry took the hint and sat down next to Percy, who was wearing brand-new, navy-blue dress robes and an expression of such smugness that Harry thought it ought to be fined.

"I've been promoted," Percy said before Harry could even ask, and from his tone, he might have been announcing his election as supreme ruler of the universe. "I'm now Mr. Crouch's personal assistant, and I'm here representing him."

"Why didn't he come?" Harry asked. He wasn't looking forward to being lectured on cauldron bottoms all through dinner.

"I'm afraid to say Mr. Crouch isn't well, not well at all. Hasn't been right since the World Cup. Hardly surprising - overwork. He's not as young as he was - though still quite brilliant, of course, the mind remains as great as it ever was. But the World Cup was a fiasco for the whole Ministry, and then, Mr. Crouch suffered a huge personal shock with the misbehavior of that house-elf of his, Blinky, or whatever she was called. Naturally, he dismissed her immediately afterward, but - well, as I say, he's getting on, he needs looking after, and I think he's found a definite drop in his home comforts since she left. And then we had the tournament to arrange, and the aftermath of the Cup to deal with - that revolting Skeeter woman buzzing around - no, poor man, he's having a well earned, quiet Christmas. I'm just glad he knew he had someone he could rely upon to take his place."

Harry wanted very much to ask whether Mr. Crouch had stopped calling Percy "Weatherby" yet, but resisted the temptation.

There was no food as yet on the glittering golden plates, but small menus were lying in front of each of them. Harry picked his up uncertainly and looked around - there were no waiters. Dumbledore, however, looked carefully down at his own menu, then said very clearly to his plate, "Pork chops!"

And pork chops appeared. Getting the idea, the rest of the table placed their orders with their plates too. Harry glanced up at Hermione to see how she felt about this new and more complicated method of dining - surely it meant plenty of extra work for the house-elves? - but for once, Hermione didn't seem to be thinking about S.P.E.W. She was deep in talk with Viktor Krum and hardly seemed to notice what she was eating.

That seemed to wake up the owner of the nasty voice inside Harry only this time it didn't seem to want to talk. It just growled violently every time Harry glanced towards Hermione and Krum.

Meanwhile Fleur Delacour was criticizing the Hogwarts decorations to Roger Davies.

"Zis is nothing," she said dismissively, looking around at the sparkling walls of the Great Hall. "At ze Palace of Beauxbatons, we 'ave ice sculptures all around ze dining chamber at Chreestmas. Zey do not melt, of course...zey are like 'uge statues of diamond, glittering around ze place. And ze food is seemply superb. And we 'ave choirs of wood nymphs, 'oo serenade us as we eat. We 'ave none of zis ugly armor in ze 'alls, and eef a poltergeist ever entaired into Beauxbatons, 'e would be expelled like zat." She slapped her hand onto the table impatiently.

Roger Davies was watching her talk with a very dazed look on his face, and he kept missing his mouth with his fork. Harry had the impression that Davies was too busy staring at Fleur to take in a word she was saying.

"Absolutely right," he said quickly, slapping his own hand down on the table in imitation of Fleur. "Like that. Yeah."

Harry looked around the Hall. Hagrid was sitting at one of the other staff tables; he was back in his horrible hairy brown suit and gazing up at the top table. Harry saw him give a small wave, and looking around, saw Madame Maxime return it, her opals glittering in the candlelight.

When all the food had been consumed, Dumbledore stood up and asked the students to do the same. Then, with a wave of his wand, all the tables zoomed back along the walls leaving the floor clear, and then he conjured a raised platform into existence along the right wall. A set of drums, several guitars, a lute, a cello, and some bagpipes were set upon it.

The Weird Sisters now trooped up onto the stage to wildly enthusiastic applause; they were all extremely hairy and dressed in black robes that had been artfully ripped and torn. They picked up their instruments, and Harry, who had been so interested in watching them that he had almost forgotten what was coming, suddenly realized that the lanterns on all the other tables had gone out, and that the other champions and their partners were standing up.

"I suppose that's our queue" esclaimed Susan now apparently back to her normal self, all hints of nervousness leaving her.

Harry stood up and followed her to the stage smiling. It seemed concentrating on Susan was the only thing keeping the thing with the nasty voice in his head at bay.

The Weird Sisters struck up a slow, mournful tune; Harry walked onto the brightly lit dance floor, carefully avoiding catching anyone's eye (he could see Seamus and Dean waving at him and sniggering), and next moment in a flash fueled by embarasment, he had seized Susan with his hands, placing one around her waist and the other holding her hand suprisingly gently given the speed of his actions.

"Well Miss Bones" he said in a mock serious tone,"are you ready for the slaughter?"At this point he was full out grinning at their inside joke which Susan mirrored with her own.

"I have beeen preparing for quite some time Mr Potter" she continued,"I am ready" she said in a mock resolute tone. They almost burst out laughing at that point, as they started dancing.

It wasn't bad, Harry thought, revolving slowly on the spot. He kept his eyes fixed on Susan, and very soon many of the watching people too had come onto the dance floor, so that the champions were no longer the center of attention. Neville and Ginny were dancing nearby - he could see Ginny wincing frequently as Neville trod on her feet - and Dumbledore was waltzing with Madame Maxime. He was so dwarfed by her that the top of his pointed hat barely tickled her chin; however, she moved very gracefully for a woman so large. Mad-Eye Moody was doing an extremely ungainly two-step with Professor Sinistra, who was nervously avoiding his wooden leg.

Harry then heard the final, quavering note from the bagpipe with relief. The Weird Sisters stopped playing, applause filled the hall once more.

"That wasn't so bad." said Susan smiling."My toes seem to be mostly intact too".

"Yeah well, dont tell anyone this, but i've been going to profesor McGonagal's lessons," whispered Harry, smiling too " figured completely embarasing myself in front of everyone wouldn't be the best choice to make"

Susan laughed at that. Before she could say anything however, the Weird Sisters struck up a new song, which was much faster.

"Oh this is a really good one!" Susan said looking at Harry expectantly. She obviously forgot all about her previous nervousness and was ready to enjoy the ball in full.

Harry at first wanted to say no. Dancing with Susan didn't feel bad, but the more he stayed on the dance floor the more self-conscious he got. When he was about to ask Susan to get back to their table, he caught from the corner of his eye, Krum and Hermione walking towards it while being very close to each other.

"So let's keep dancing" he said to Susan. He did not want to be at the same table with Hermione right now. He didn't trust himself near her tonight, not while she was anywhere near Krum.

That turned out to be a great decision. Susan was a great dancer, but more importantly for Harry, a patient and great teacher as well. Harry certainly knew a bit about dancing from his lessons, but that was just the very basics. With Susan's prowess they were literaly gliding through the dance floor by the third song. Susan had told him that she had to learn how to dance for Balls such as these since very young, mostly because of her Aunts job. Being the Head of the DMLE meant she got loads of invites to events such as this, and even though she hated them, according to Susan, there were still some she could not get away from and Susan would almost always accompany her. She also admitted however, while blushing slightly, that this was the first Ball she went to with a date.

And that was how most of the night went by. The did stop dancing at some points of course to catch their breath. Harry saw Ron during one of those breaks sitting next to Parvati sulking. He was not having a good time it seemed. If it was any other time Harry would go to keep him company, but now it seemed he didn't get the chance. He and Susan seemed to always be surrounded by people, some friends of Harry and some friends of Susan. Honestly though, he kind of didn't want to either, because he knew that if he did then he would proobably end up being swept along Ron's mood, and he didn't want that. He was actually having a great time. All the while he avoided being close to Hermione and Krum without people around.

The Weird Sisters were now back to playing slow songs for those few people still dancing, Harry and Susan among them, when Susan let out a yawn.

"You're knackered aren't you" said Harry, stopping and guiding Susan to the edge of the dance floor.

"I'm alright" she said unconvincingly trying to stifle another yawn.

"Sure you are" Harry chuckled, and then checked his watch."No wonder you're exhausted, it's already half past eleven. We've been dancing for at least three hours" he exclaimed suprised.

"Well, time flies when you're having fun" replied Susan airily while smiling.

"I suppose it does, doesn't it?" smiled Harry. "But i think time's up for today"

"What, why?" said Susan.

"Susan, you are practically falling asleep in my arms" said Harry with mirth in his voice.

Sure enough the only reason Susan was holding herself upright was because Harry was holding her at the waist and her shoulder leaning on his chest.

"Oh well, i suppose you're right." Susan finally admitted. "And it really has been quite a while, there seems to be only one third of the students left in the Hall" she continued while looking around. "It seems to be time to go i guess."

"I'll walk you to your dorm" said Harry.

"You really don't have to" said Susan, but as she said that she slipped and had to hold on to Harry for support. "But it seems you actually might" she said smiling sheepishly.

Harry just laughed as he guided her through the entrance Hall toward the Hufflepuff common room entrance.

"I really had fun tonight" started Harry at about halfway through their destination,"even though i didn't really expect to."

"Well, i suppose anyone, whose girl they fancied came to the ball with one of his rivals, wouldn't" said Susan smiling

"What!" sputtered Harry and whippedd his head around to look at her.

"Hermione" said Susan matter-of-factly and still smiling."I saw how you looked at her and Krum when you first saw them. Wasn't hard to figure it out"

'Was i really that obvious" thought Harry, and came to halt while looking at the ground in dejection. 'She must really hate me for it" They had already reached the Hufflepuff entrance at that point.

"I'm not saying this to make you guilty" Susan said, guessing Harry's thoughts. "In fact i had a great time tonight"

"You did" asked Harry hopefully raising his head.

"Of course i did" answered Susan beaming."It was the greatest Ball i have ever been to. And i've been to a lot."

"O... Oh, that's good then." said Harry now smiling back.

"Well i suppose this is goodnight then" said Susan after whispering the pasword to the entrance of the common room,(Harry was a Gryffindor after all).

"Yeah" replied Harry awkwardly.

Then Susan quickly got on her tip toes and kissed Harry oon his cheek. She procceded to run inside the common room and closing the entrance before Harry could react.

That left a dumbfounded Harry Potter staring at the entrance. After several seconds he turned around and smiling made for his own common room while thinking

'All in all not a bad night'

While passing through the entrance hall to get to the shortcut for the gryffindor common room Harry was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. When he turned around to face the owner of the hand he saw that it was none other than Viktor Krum. Before he could say anything Krum asked.

"Vare is Herm-own-ninny?" he said

"No idea," Harry said a bit colder than necessary,"Lost her, have you?"

Krum was looking surly again.

"I vent to get drinks and after i came she vas gone. I thought she vas vith you since she vas talking to the red-haared van before"

That actually worried Harry. He saw the looks Ron had given Hermione during the whole night. That coupled with Ron's propencity to put his foot in his mouth as often as possible didn't bode well.

"I'll help you look for her" Harry told Krum ignoring the protests of the thing with the nasty voice that had come back full force the moment he saw Krum.

"That vill not be necessary" said Krum getting surlier and then slouched off.

Harry of course started looking for her anyway. He asked himself, what would Hermione do if she was met with Ron Weasly mouthing off at her. The answer was simple thought Harry, kick him in the privates. That was ruled out immediately though, because it would prabably cause a scene and Harry didn't notice anything like that around. So he was left with option number two. Go somewhere queit and cry. Just thinking about it tore Harry heart in two and made him swear to kick Ron's face in the next time he saw him. But he pressed on thinking of places she might have gone to hide. The restroom was out, after the traumatic experience in first year he doubted she would go there again. Having no other ideas simply started wondering around looking for places he thought Hermione would go. He finally found himself in the rose garden. Fluttering fairy lights in all around him winked and twinkled as they went down the front steps, where they found themselves surrounded by bushes; winding, ornamental paths; and large stone statues. Harry could hear splashing water, which sounded like a fountain. Continuing on he reached a large stone reindeer now, over which he could see the sparkling jets of a tall fountain.

And right next to that fountain, sitting on top of a carved bench was the object of his search. Thankfully she didn't seem to be crying, as Harry could see from afar. He got closer and closer until he was standing right in front of her. She didn't make any indication of noticing him, but instead kept her focus on her lightly swinging feet.

"Hey" he said softly gaining her attention.

She raised her head and smiled lightly. "Hey yourself" she said. Harry then sat down on the bench next to her.

"This is a really nice spot" he said, his eyes wandering around.

"I thought so" Hermione replied now looking around as well.

"No matter how nice though, it still doesn't explain why you're out here instead of inside dancing the night away with Krum" continued Harry getting to the point. Again he chose to ignore the growl of the nasty voice when he said Krum's name.

"I needed some air" said Hermione with a small frown.

"I see." answered Harry. A comfortable silence fell upon them with only the slow sound of the music from inside drifting about.

"What are you doing out here?" asked Hermione without turning towards him.

"Looking for you" answered Harry, " Susan was knackered so i escorted her back to her dorm and when i came back you weren't anywhere to be found". He for some reason did not want Hermione to know that it was Krum of all people who let him know that Hermione had left.

"You seemed to have fun tonight, _with Susan"_ said Hermione in a quieter voice.

"Well, you seemed to have fun with Krum too" replied Harry with a small steely undertone. It made Hermione flinch the bearest amount. She tried to hide it but Harry noticed, and it made him feel awful. He sighed and then put a hand on her shoulder. "What happened?" he asked. He turned her around and saw her eyes going slighlty red from holding back tears.

"Did i betray you Harry?" she asked her voice solow it was a whisper.

"What are you talking about?" asked Harry bewildered. 'Why would she ask something like that'. Then it hit him, Ron. He must have said something to her. He didnt like the way he saw him looking at her all evening and couple the fact that Ron seemed to have an awful time tonight and his famous temper, an outburst was expected, and Hermione seemed to be the primary recipient.

"Did Ron tell you that?" Harry said grinding his teeth with iritation.

"Answer the question." said Hermione turning her head around again.

"I am going to slug the git" said Harry now standing up angrily. He then turned to her and kneeled in front of her grabbing her hand.

"Hermione" he called to her softly. When she wouldn't turn to face him he squeezed her hands slightly and with a bit more force called her again. "Hermione, look at me", and she did. Her eyes werw full on red now. "It doesn't matter what the ginger prat thinks." Harry said with the most convincing voice he could muster. "You did not betray me. You could never betray me, do you understand. Ronwas probably jealous that Krum asked yu to the Ball instead of him" he continued adding a small smile. Hermione seemed to smile at that too. It didn't last however.

"Why have you been avoiding me all evening then?" Hermione asked her features back to seriousness. Harry was stumped at how to answer that because he actually was avoiding her (or more specificaly her and Krum, and the only times he noticed her alone he was surrounded by others). After a few moments of thought he spoke.

"Look Hermione, i will be the first person to admit that the fact that you didn't come with me to the Ball is something i didn't like" he said his face shadowed and serious. As Hermione opened her mouth to speak he raised a hand to stop her and continued,"but that has nothing to do with the fact that you came with Krum, and it is certainly not your fault. It is mine" At this point Hermione was staring at Harry wide-eyed. "I didn't like it because i know now i should have asked you the moment i realised i wanted to come to this damned thing with you and you alone, instead of waiting for weeks. Now as for me avoiding you tonight..." he said now looking at her with sadness and regret in his eyes, "that was selfish and rude of me and i am really sorry." He then rose to his feet still holding her hands.

"And as for what mo-Ron thinks, you should pay it no mind. You must always know that the one person in this world who i have complete faith in is you. No one else, you" he said and then continued looking at her.

Hermione during this little speech of his had done a one-eighty. From being on the verge of tears to completely speechless. The fact that the one that left her speechless was Harry of all people only seemed to add to that. She would like to think that she knew Harry pretty well, what with three years of spending every single day together, but she had never seen him like this. Harry had never been this earnest before. He would never admit his flaws so openly and he would never be able to apologise with astraight face and not a hint of awkwardness. As she sat there looking at him and thinking all that as he finished she noticed he was waiting for her reply. The only response she could give was a simple nod.

Harry smiled. At that moment the music from inside seemed to become louder and draw both of them. They turned towrds the Hall and then towards each other. Harry had a face-splitting grin on. He pulled Hermione's hand and helped her stand up. He then pulled out his wand and cleared the objects around them leaving a nice paved area clear.

"What are you doing Harry" asked Hermione with curiosity

"Well, as i recall Miss Granger" Harry said in a fae official tone, "you owe me a dance", he made a small bow and extended his hand towards her. "What i am doing is collecting" he finished the grin never leaving his face. Hermione couldn't help but burst into giggles. 'She actually sounds cute when she's giggling' thought Harry.

She took his hand and they started dancing. For some reason the music sounded as clear outside as it did inside, as they twirled around laughing and enjoying themselves more than they have all night, surrounded by fairy lights.

'This is wonderfull" said Hermione some time later her head on Harry's shoulder and her eyes half-closed and a smile on her lips.

"Hmm" was Harry affirmitive reply with an equally happy expression on his face.

Nothing lasts forever however as time passed and the clock struck midnight. The music stopped playing and all inside were on their way out. Outside Harry and Hermione had also stopped dancing. The two seperated and stared at each other for a few seconds. Hermione was the first to break the silence.

"We should go back inside" she said still looking at him in the eyes.

"Yeah" said Harry also not moving an inch. They couldnt stop looking at each other and they were getting closer and closer without even realizing it.

Then a rustling sound came from behind them. They both turned startled and saw Madame Maxime storming away, great multicolored swarms of fairies rising into the air as she passed, angrily pushing aside bushes. That's when they realised they were probably not the onlly people out there.

"We should really get back inside" said Hermione again this time actually turning around and walking towards the castle

"Umm, right, yes, of course" was Harry's eloquent reply and followed her.

On the way back to the castle they said nothing to each other. Hermione in particular had let herself fall behind Harry a few steps. She wanted to see his reactions to what happened between them tonight without him noticing. She saw his face shifting from one expression to the next so fast even her brilliant mind had a hard time catching up and even then she couldn't understand half of them. As they had reached the outside doorway to the entrance hall however she told hersef 'Dont think too much Hermione" much like her mum told her to do every time she asked for advice on emotional isssues. She called Harry's name and as he turned around to look at her she rose in her tiptoes and kissed him, lightly on the lips.

Harry was shocked still. And before he could gather himself and actually enjoy what was happening, Hermione had pulled back squeeked a "Goodnight Harry" and started running inside. He was left standing ther for at least fifteen seconds staring at the space she was standing with wide eyes. When finally pulled himself together he started walking slowly towards the stairway leading to gryffindor tower. Suffice it to say the smile that seemed glued to his face was so dazzling it made the dark winter night seem like the midday of summer.

Halfway up the staircase though he heard someone calling him.

"Hey-Harry!"

It was Cedric Diggory. Harry could see Cho waiting for him in the entrance hall below.

"Hey Cedric" replied Harry dazzling smile still in full force.

"Listen..." Cedric lowered his voice after looking around and making sure none was listening. "I owe you one for telling me about the dragons. You know that golden egg? Does yours wail when you open it?"

"Yeah," said Harry with a quizzical look.

"Well...take a bath, okay?"

"What?"

"Take a bath, and - er - take the egg with you, and - er - just mull things over in the hot water. It'll help you think...Trust me."

Harry stared at him.

"Tell you what," Cedric said, "use the prefects' bathroom. Fourth door to the left of that statue of Boris the Bewildered on the fifth floor. Password's 'pine fresh.' Gotta go...want to say good night -"

He grinned at Harry again and hurried back down the stairs to Cho.

Harry walked back to Gryffindor Tower. That had been extremely strange advice. Why would a bath help him to work out what the wailing egg meant? Was Cedric pulling his leg?

'No he wouldn't do that' thought Harry. But his thoughts thakfully drift back to Hermione by the time he reached thFat lady's portrait.

The Fat Lady and her friend Vi were snoozing in the picture over the portrait hall. He had to wake them up before he gave them the password, enter the common room and make his way up the stairs towards his dorm. When he entered he found that every other dormate of his excluding Neville who was just getting to bed was already asleep including Ron. That pleased him because he really didn't want to ruin the rest of this night by bashing his friend's face in so he simply went to bed as well. Even as he slept his face couldn't help but still make a silly grin.

* * *

 **Hey, sorry for not updating fr so long. Life kind of got in the way. I'll try to update as much as i can by New Year's but after that i cant guarantee anything.**

 **As always please follow, fave and review, good bad doesn't matter as long as it's constructive ( well okay you can post good reviews even if they aren't constructive ;))**


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